Cibrarp  of  "the  'theological  ^emmarp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 


Delavan  L.  Pierson 


s^&lftvan  L.  Pierson, 

1127  DEAN  ST. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y, 


S!9  ■  , 


i 


KURDISH  SHEIKHS 


XEbe 


IRulc  of 


A  REVISED  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION  OF 


Cbe  Hrmenian  Crisis 


BY 


y 

FREDERICK  DAVIS  GREENE, 


M.A. 


RECENTLY  A  RESIDENT  OF  ARMENIA 


FULL  Y  I L LUSTRA  TED 


EIGHTEENTH  THOUSAND 


G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


NEW  YORK 

27  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET 

®Ije  Knickerbocker  $Jress 

1896 


LONDON 

HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 


Copyright,  i8g6 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 
Entered  at  Stationers’  Hall,  London 


Ube  Ifentcberbocfccr  ipress,  Ittew  JSorfe 


HafoarRen  ©asilt 


Qljjtztzr. 

CLfuLa,lrf&y 


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Urtk*  JviJ-'  h  ■  , 

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hr  Jiu*~  if"*~t  ^T, 

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j <u*^~c^~  f#/  ^ 


IL&.4 


[Letter  from  the  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  to  the  author  of 
“The  Rule  of  tlie  Turk.”] 


in 


INTRODUCTION. 


THIS  is  an  important  book.  It  deals  with  a 
burning  question,  and  in  a  way  which  will 
command  public  attention  and  public  confi¬ 
dence. 

The  author  is  thoroughly  equipped  for  his  task. 
Birth,  residence,  and  travel  in  Turkey  have  made 
him  personally  acquainted  with  the  situation  which 
he  discusses,  and  the  independence  of  his  position 
enables  him  to  write  without  restraint  and  without 
prejudice.  After  nearly  four  years  of  service  as  a 
missionary  of  the  American  Board  in  Van,  the  centre 
of  Armenia,  during  which  no  criticism  of  his  course 
was  ever  made  either  by  the  Board  or  by  the  Turk¬ 
ish  Government,  he  was  recently  ordered  by  his 
physician  to  return  to  America.  Having  resigned 
his  connection  with  the  American  Board,  he  writes 
as  the  representative  of  no  society,  religious  or  po¬ 
litical,  and  is  connected  with  none.  In  issuing  this 
book  he  is  simply  discharging  what  to  him  is  a 
personal  and  unavoidable  obligation ;  and  as  he 
frankly  avows  its  authorship,  it  will  be  impossible 
for  the  Turkish  Government  to  hold  any  one  else 
responsible  for  it. 

The  author  shows  that  the  case  of  the  subject 
races  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  is  desperate,  that  there 
is  no  hope  of  reform  from  within,  and  that  relief 


VI 


Introduction . 


must  therefore  come  through  the  interference  of  the 
powers  of  Europe.  Their  action  depends  largely  on 
the  support  of  the  public.  “  Public  opinion ,”  there¬ 
fore,  “  must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  this  case ,”  as  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  in  the  House  of  Commons  six  years 
ago.  Since  then  there  has  been  added  a  new  chap¬ 
ter  of  horrors,  and  the  demand  for  decisive  action  in 
the  name  of  our  common  humanity  has  become 
more  urgent.  The  facts  furnished  by  this  book 
ought  to  arouse  such  public  opinion  as  will  justify 
and  compel  prompt  and  efficient  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Powers. 

The  United  States  need  not  depart  from  its  long- 
established  foreign  policy,  but  is  bound  to  protect 
its  own  honor  and  the  lives  and  property  of  its 
citizens. 

Josiah  Strong. 

New  York,  March  i,  1895. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

I. - A  CHAPTER  OF  HORRORS  . 

Certified  Evidence  of  the  Armenian  Massacre,  Preceded 
by  an  Endorsement  of  the  Evidence,  with  Signatures 
in  Fac-simile,  and  an  Explanatory  Note. 

II. - GENERAL  INFORMATION  ABOUT  EASTERN  TUR¬ 
KEY  . 

The  Physical  Aspects,  Inhabitants,  and  Administration 
of  the  Country. 

III.  - THE  CHRONIC  CONDITION  OF  ARMENIA  AND 

KURDISTAN  ...... 

Specific  and  Detailed  Instances  of  Kurdish  Plunder 
and  Oppression. — The  Turkish  System  of  Taxation  and 
its  Abuses. — Why  these  Facts  are  so  little  Known. — 
What  can  be  Done  to  Improve  the  Situation. 

IV.  - OTTOMAN  PROMISES  AND  THEIR  FULFILMENT, 

The  Treaty  of  Adrianople,  1829. — The  Hatti  Sherif, 
1839. — Pledge  of  1844. — Protestant  Charter,  1850. — 
Hatti  Humayoun,  1856. — Anglo-Turkish  Convention, 
1878. — Treaty  of  Berlin,  1878. 

V. - THE  OUTCOME  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  BERLIN 

British  Naval  Demonstration,  1879. — The  Identical 
Note  of  the  Powers,  1880,  and  the  Turkish  Reply. — 
The  Collective  Note  of  the  Powers,  and  the  Aggressive 
Response  of  the  Sublime  Porte. — The  Circular  of  Great 
Britain,  1881,  its  Cool  Reception  by  the  Powers,  and 
the  Indefinite  Postponement  of  Turkish  Reforms. — 
The  Effect  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  in  Arousing  Armenian 
Aspirations  and  Increasing  Turkish  Oppression. — Ar¬ 
menian  Revolution  a  Nightmare  of  the  Turks. — The 


PAGE 

I 


43 


54 


70 


76 


Vll 


Vlll 


Contents, 


CHAPTER 

Real  Armenian  Position. — The  Only  Treatment  for  the 
“  Sick  Man  ”  a  Surgical  One. 

VI. - THE  SULTAN  AND  THE  SUBLIME  PORTE 

The  Demands  of  his  Office  as  Sultan-Calif. — Justice 
to  Christian  and  Moslem  both  Impossible. — Status  of 
non-Mohammedans. — The  Palace  and  the  Porte. — A 
House  Divided  against  Itself. 

VII. - PREVIOUS  ACTS  OF  THE  TURKISH  TRAGEDY, 

The  Massacres  of  Greeks,  1822  ;  Nestorians,  1850  ;  Syri¬ 
ans,  i860;  Cretans,  1867;  Bulgarians,  1876;  Yezidis, 
1892  ;  Armenians,  1894. 

VIII. - ISLAM  AS  A  FACTOR  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

A  Politico-Religious  System. — Indissoluble  and  Incapa¬ 
ble  of  Modification. — The  Military,  Civil,  and  Legal 
Rights  of  non-Mohammedans. — Freeman’s  Conclusion. 

IX. — GLADSTONE  ON  THE  ARMENIAN  MASSACRE 
AND  ON  TURKISH  MISRULE 

X.  WHO  ARE  THE  ARMENIANS  ?  .  .  . 

Their  Origin,  History,  Church,  Language,  Literature, 
and  General  Characteristics. 

XI. - AMERICANS  IN  TURKEY,  THEIR  WORK  AND 

INFLUENCE  . 

Their  Attitude  and  Recognized  Position. — Statistics  of 
the  Direct  Results  of  their  Efforts. 

XII.  ARMENIAN  VILLAGE  LIFE  .  .  .  . 

Appendix  A. — a  bit  of  American  diplomacy 

B.  - ESTABLISHMENT  OF  U.  S.  CONSULATES 

IN  EASTERN  TURKEY 

C.  — dr.  cyrus  hamlin’s  explanation  . 

D.  — THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  THE  PRESS 

E.  —  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  SUBJECT 


PAGE 


87 


95 


I  IO 


I  2  I 

I31 

147 


157 

169 

I75 

179 

181 

183 

is? 


General  Index 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

kurdish  sheikhs  .....  Frontispiece 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  SIGNATURES  ....  2  and  4 

VICTIMS  OF  TURKISH  TAXATION  IO 

REVIEW  OF  KURDISH  CAVALRY  19 

NAREG  :  ANCIENT  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  HOVELS  .  25 

ARMENIAN  GIRLS  OF  VAN  .....  27 

THE  BURIAL  PIT  AT  ERZERUM  .  .  .  facing  34 

A  KURD  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE  .....  47 

RUINED  KURDISH  CASTLE  AT  KHOSHAB  50 

MINAS  TCHERAZ  . . 80 

ZEIBEK  “IRREGULAR”  ......  83 

TURKISH  SOLDIER,  “  REGULAR  ”  ....  85 

H.  I.  M.  SULTAN  ABD-UL-HAMID  KHAN  .  .  -91 

HIGHWAY  IN  ARMENIA  ......  105 

ARMENIAN  REBELS  WHO  WOULD  NOT  PAY  TAXES  .  120 

KURDISH  HAMIDIEH  SOLDIERS,  EXECUTING  THE 

“  sword-dance”  ......  127 

ANCIENT  ARMENIAN  TOMBSTONE  ....  135 

THE  C ATHOLICOS  OF  ETCHMIADZIN  ....  139 

THE  SUBORDINATE  CATHOLICOS  OF  AGHTAMAR  .  141 

THE  ISLAND  MONASTERY  OF  AGHTAMAR  .  .  .  145 

ARMENIAN  FAMILY  OF  BITLIS . 152 


IX 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


HE  would  be  a  rash  man  who  should  claim  to 
have  mastered  the  Eastern  Question — a  ques¬ 
tion  which  it  is  not  easy  even  to  define,  and 
of  which  the  future  of  Turkey  is  only  a  part.  To 
throw  light  on  some  phases  of  the  latter  problem  is 
the  writer’s  object — and  this  by  way  of  information 
rather  than  argument.  What  he  has  learned  of  the 
subject  has  been  by  residence,  travel,  absorption, 
and  investigation  in  the  land  itself,  and  by  reading. 
The  very  short  time  allowed  in  the  preparation  of 
this  humble  contribution  to  the  subject  has  necessi¬ 
tated  a  hasty  and  partial  treatment  at  the  expense 
of  literary  form.  Some  of  the  material  and  most  of 
the  illustrations  are  reproduced  from  articles  by  the 
author  in  the  American  Reviezv  of  Reviews ,  by  the 
kind  permission  of  the  editor,  Dr.  Albert  Shaw. 
No  pains  have  been  spared  to  insure  accuracy. 
References  to  authorities  have  been  given  as  far  as 
possible,  but  in  regard  to  much  information  from 
most  reliable  sources  names  must  be  withheld. 

This  book,  which  appeared  early  in  March,  1895, 
was  prepared  primarily  to  prove  the  reality  and 
awful  character  of  the  first  great  massacre  of  Arme¬ 
nians  which  had  taken  place  in  Sassoun  seven  months 


XI 


xi!  Preface  to  the  Second  Edition. 

before,  but  of  which  no  authenticated  evidence  had 
up  till  that  time  been  made  public.  It  was  believed 
that,  if  the  people  of  Great  Britain  could  be  con¬ 
vinced  of  the  condition  of  Armenia,  for  which  they 
were  largely  responsible,  such  a  public  opinion  would 
be  aroused  as  would  at  once  lead  to  vigorous  and 
determined  action  by  that  government.  It  was 
stated  in  the  Preface:  “If  such  action  is  not  taken, 
the  effect  of  this  book,  as  of  all  agitation  in  behalf 
of  the  victims  of  Turkey,  will  be  to  draw  the  fetters 
deeper/’  The  expectation  that  England  would  do 
her  duty  has  proved  to  be  groundless,  but  the  Turk 
has  lived  up  to  his  reputation.  Irritated  by  Eng¬ 
land’s  threats,  but  emboldened  by  her  cowardly  and 
vacillating  course,  the  Sultan,  while  pretending  to 
reform  Armenia,  inaugurated  there  a  reign  of  terror, 
of  which  Sassoun  was  a  mere  local  incident. 

The  Armenian  Crisis  is  retained  as  a  sub-title, 
because  there  is  still  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  that 
important  race  ;  and  there  will  soon  be  one  in 
Europe  if  selfishness,  jealousy,  and  duplicity  con¬ 
tinue  to  stifle  all  considerations  of  humanity,  national 
honor,  and — I  blush  to  add  it — of  Christianity. 

In  order  to  protect  “  British  interests,”  for  two- 
score  years,  not  to  say  longer,  has  “Christian” 
England  stood  guard  at  the  Sublime  Porte,  warn¬ 
ing  all  intruders  away.  With  her  hand  on  the  door 
of  the  Turk’s  disorderly  house,  she  has  compla¬ 
cently  informed  the  world  that  she  in  particular 
— as  well  as  the  other  Powers — has  secured  prom¬ 
ises,  and  even  guaranties,  that  all  would  go  well. 
But  all  the  while,  Her  Majesty’s  Ministers,  of  what- 


Preface  to  the  Second  Edition.  xiii 

ever  party,  have  heard  the  bitter  and  despairing 
cry  of  the  poor  wretches  within,  and  have  done 
their  best  to  stifle  it  by  carefully  suppressing,  in 
their  archives,  the  consular  reports  which  have 
kept  them  officially  informed  of  the  real  situation.1 
And  all  the  while,  England’s  share  of  the  profits  of 
this  partnership  with  “  her  friend  and  ally,”  has  been 
steadily  dropping  into  her  overflowing  coffers.  Was 
Cyprus  nothing?  Is  Egypt  nothing?  Is  the  inter¬ 
est  on  Turkish  bonds,  extracted  in  blood-drops  by  a 
pressure  that  England  helps  to  maintain,  nothing? 
England’s  Christian  statesmen  who  so  jealously  pro¬ 
tect  “British  interests,”  even  to  the  extent  of  con¬ 
niving,  for  “  reasons  of  state,”  at  the  outrage  and 
murder  of  Armenia — whose  chief  guardianship  they 
insisted  on  assuming, — would  do  well  to  remember 
that  there  is  a  kingdom  of  God,  which  has  its  in¬ 
terests,  and  which  for  state  reasons  of  its  own  has 
swept  away  mighty  empires  that  defied  its  laws. 

As  for  France,  whose  cant  at  least  is  not  religious, 

A 

she  tattoos  her  fair  figure  with  “  Libcrte,  Egalite ', 
Fraternite ”  wherever  there  is  space  to  write  the 
words,  but  she  evidently  confines  her  motto  to  her¬ 
self.  It  is  reported  that,  at  the  close  of  the  Berlin 

1  “  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  why  the  reports  of  consuls  ceased  to  be 
furnished  in  or  about  the  year  1881.  Why  are  not  consular  reports 
to  be  made,  and  being  made,  why  are  they  not  to  be  printed?  If  in 
this  respect  I  am  personally,  or  anyone  associated  with  me  is,  open 
to  censure,  let  the  facts  be  brought  out  ;  but  do  not  let  a  particular 
act  at  a  particular  time  be  confounded  with  the  adoption  of  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  eternal  silence  about  the  horrors  that  prevail  in  Armenia.” — 
Speech  by  the  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  in  House  of  Commons, 
May  28,  1889. 


xiv  Preface  to  the  Second  Edition . 

Congress  in  1878,  Prince  Bismarck  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  official  Germany,  by  saying  that  he 
“  would  not  give  one  Pomeranian  grenadier  for  the 
Balkan  Peninsula.”  If  so,  she  would  probably  sac¬ 
rifice  even  less  now  for  Armenia,  though  she  would 
object,  of  course,  to  a  division  of  Turkey  without 
receiving  some  compensation  herself.  Austria  would 
gladly  extend  her  protectorate  over  Macedonia, 
which  would  also  dispose  of  that  bone  of  contention 
between  Bulgaria  and  Greece.  Poor  Italy  finds  it 
hard  to  swallow  what  she  has  already  bitten  off  in 
Abyssinia,  and  would  be  glad  of  something  better. 

Holy  Russia  feels  so  sure  of  the  Armenian  apple, 
which  is  bound  to  fall  into  her  lap  when  it  is  ripe, 
that  she  does  n’t  even  care  to  shake  the  branch,  lest 
it  might  alarm  her  rivals.  She  is  mistress  of  the 
situation,  and  time  is  in  her  favor. 

As  for  Turkey,  she  has  long  seen  the  sword  of 
Damocles  over  her  head,  and  will  bow  to  the  stroke 
of  Fate  whenever  it  falls.  She  hates  and  distrusts 
all  the  Powers,  but,  as  a  last  resort,  will  probably 
yield  to  Russia,  the  nearest  and  the  strongest,  in 
hope  of  escaping  the  rest.  Nobody  expects  or  is 
really  trying  to  secure  reforms  in  Turkey,  though 
promises  of  reform  will  still  be  demanded  of  the 
Sultan,  and  will  always  be  ready  on  demand. 

What  is  the  real  underlying  difficulty  in  Turkey  ? 
Is  it  a  conflict  of  race,  or  religion  ?  Primarily  it  is 
neither,  though  both  of  these  elements  seriously 
complicate  the  case  at  present.  In  one  word,  it  is 
misgov eminent.  Do  not  be  deceived  by  this  rather 
mild  word,  and  dismiss  the  subject  with  the  reflec- 


Preface  to  the  Second  Edition.  xv 

tion  that  “  there  is  misgovernment  everywhere.” 
Misgovernment,  as  it  exists  in  Turkey,  is  a  system 
breeding  corruption  and  death.  It  is  a  disease, 
hereditary,  chronic,  penetrating  the  whole  body 
politic  and  fastened  on  its  very  vitals.  No  creed  is 
exempt  ;  every  race  is  attacked  by  it. 

I  have  seen  the  crushing  and — what  is  worse — 
demoralizing  conditions  from  which  all  the  races  in 
Turkey  suffer  under  Moslem  misrule.  I  know  how 
rapidly  these  fine  races  would  advance  along  every 
line,  were  these  conditions  changed.  I  know  the 
grand  possibilities  of  the  Armenians  as  a  people, 
physically,  intellectually,  and  morally.  The  only 
wonder  is  that  a  people  of  so  great  ability,  energy, 
and  spirit  have  so  long  submitted.  But  when  one 
sees,  as  I  have  been  compelled  to,  during  years  of 
residence  both  in  Constantinople  and  the  interior, 
how  the  fetters  have  been  forged  on  every  limb,  and 
how  the  movement  of  a  finger  even  brings  down 
immediate  and  terrible  vengeance,  the  wonder  arises 
why  these  wretches  are  so  foolhardy  as  to  undertake 
revolution.  The  fact  is  they  are  not  engaged  in  any 
such  enterprise.  Individual  agitators  there  are,  but 
even  their  object  is  only  to  force  the  civilized  world 
to  give  attention  to  the  despairing  cry  of  their  race, 
which  even  God  does  not  seem,  to  them,  to  hear. 

If  the  Armenians  are  to  be  left  as  they  are,  it  is  a 
pity  that  Europe  ever  mentioned  them  in  the  Treaty 
of  Berlin  or  subsequently  ;  and  to  intrust  reforms  in 
their  behalf  to  those  who  have  devoted  three  months’ 
time  to  killing  and  robbing  them  is  simply  to  aban¬ 
don  the  Armenians  to  destruction  and  to  put  the 


xv  i  Preface  to  the  Second  Edition. 

seal  of  Europe  to  the  bloody  work.  The  only  way 
to  reform  Turkey,  as  history  has  so  often  shown,  is 
by  forcible  foreign  intervention — not  the  threat  of 
it,  but  the  intervention  itself. 

The  position  and  power  of  Russia  give  her  a 
unique  call  to  the  work.  Should  she  enter  on  it  at 
once  the  whole  civilized  world  would  approve  her 
course.  Russia  should  have  as  free  a  hand  in  Ar¬ 
menia  as  England  has  insisted  on  having  in  Egypt. 
By  frankly  admitting  this,  England  would  gain  in  the 
respect  and  sympathy  of  the  world  and  strengthen 
her  own  position. 

During  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his 
home  at  Easter,  1895,  I  asked  him  if  he  shared  the 
horror  expressed  by  some,  of  opening  the  Eastern 
Question.  Quick  as  a  flash  he  replied,  “  The  only 
way  to  close  it  is  to  open  it.”  If  in  this  fair,  honest, 
and  determined  spirit  the  statesmen  of  Europe 
should  come  together,  it  would  not  take  long  to  dis¬ 
pose  of  the  so-called  “Sick  Man.”  The  fact  is  he  is 
already  dead,  and  the  only  way  to  dispose  of  him  is  by 
burying  him  out  of  sight.  He  is  too  far  decomposed 
to  hold  together  and  must,  therefore,  be  buried  piece¬ 
meal.  No  “  joint  action  ”  will  succeed.  Each  of  the 
European  undertakers  should  dispose  of  a  part,  be 
paid  proportionately  out  of  the  estate,  and  adminis¬ 
ter  the  remainder  as  permanent  guardians  in  the 
interests  of  the  “  Sick  Man’s  ”  various  children,  thus 
happily  orphaned. 

I  preach  no  crusade  ;  none  is  needed.  But  it  is 
high  time  for  the  conscience  of  the  civilized  world 
to  assert  itself — not  simply  the  “  non-Conformist 


Preface  to  the  Second  Edition.  xvii 

conscience,”  but  the  Established,  the  Orthodox,  the 
Catholic,  the  Agnostic,  and  the  Infidel  conscience, 

ed 

in  fact  the  human  conscience — against  this  crime 
upon  humanity.  If  this  conscience  is  once  aroused, 
I  care  not  what  parties  are  in  power,  or  how  the 
game  stands  on  the  diplomatic  chessboard,  the  rule 
of  the  Turk  will  be  ended,  and  one  more  blot  will  be 
wiped  out  from  the  annals  of  the  world. 

The  policy  of  the  United  States  Government  in 
this  world  crisis  has  been  one  of  impotence  as  far  as 
the  cause  of  humanity  is  concerned,  contemptible 
from  the  standpoint  of  national  honor,  and  suicidal 
as  regards  American  interests. 

While  not  lifting  so  much  as  a  finger  to  shield  tens 
of  thousands  of  helpless  women  and  children  from 
murder  and  outrage,  President  Cleveland,  by  his 
gallant  thundering  about  a  few  miles  of  swamps  in 
Venezuela,  at  once  threw  into  hopeless  confusion  the 
calculations  of  European  statesmen  in  regard  to  the 
Armenians,  and  removed  all  pressure  in  their  be¬ 
half.  Meanwhile,  thirteen  respected  and  law-abiding 
United  States  citizens  were  actually  bombarded  by 
the  Sultan’s  troops,  and  had  their  houses  plundered 
and  burned.  Though  four  months  have  passed,  no 
indemnity  has  been  secured,  and  it  is  not  probable 
that  any  official  will  be  punished  for  this  insult  to 
America. 

Emboldened  by  such  timid  and  tardy  action  by 
this  country,  the  Porte  has  now  assumed  the  aggres¬ 
sive  and  audaciously  accuses  the  American  resi¬ 
dents  of  sedition  and  murder.  The  object  of  this 


xviii  Preface  to  the  Second  Edition. 

charge  is  simply  to  secure  their  expulsion  from  the 
country. 

In  this  policy  of  getting  rid  of  the  Americans,  the 
Turks  are  ably  seconded  by  the  Russian  Ambassa¬ 
dor  and  by  the  American  Minister  at  Constantinople, 
though  from  different  motives.  Turkey  seeks  the 
expulsion  of  the  Americans  because  she  knows  that, 
as  spiritual  and  educational  leaders,  they  are  a  mighty 
influence  in  the  development  of  her  Christian  sub¬ 
jects  whom  she  wishes  to  retain  as  helpless  serfs. 
Russia  expects  soon  to  inherit  the  land  and  would 
like  to  have  it  cleared  of  what  she  considers  religious 
weeds  and  political  brambles.  The  United  States 
Minister  professes  to  be  haunted  by  the  future 
ghosts  of  American  citizens,  whom,  for  the  very  pur¬ 
pose  of  terrifying  him,  the  Turks  threaten  to  murder. 
These  citizens,  both  men  and  women,  have  bravely 
and  cheerfully  stood  at  their  posts  while  the  storm 
of  death  has  raged  around  them  ;  and  now  that  it  is 
passed,  it  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  Turkey  can¬ 
not  continue  to  protect  them.  Just  as  soon,  how¬ 
ever,  as  the  Sultan  is  convinced  that  it  would  be  safe 
to  have  them  massacred  under  the  cloak  of  “  a 
fanatical  mob  ”  that  event  is  likely  to  occur. 

The  jeopardy  to  American  life  and  interests  arises 
from  the  undignified  and  half-hearted  way  in  which 
they  are  being  “  defended.”  A  reversal  of  this  policy 
would  safeguard  not  simply  the  persons  and  property 
of  American  citizens,  but,  what  is  more,  our  national 
honor.  It  would,  at  the  same  time,  indirectly, 
greatly  advance  the  cause  of  humanity  and  civiliza¬ 
tion  in  that  unfortunate  land. 


XIX 


Preface  io  the  Second  Edition . 

Reader,  your  voice  and  help  are  needed. 

*  He ’s  true  to  God  who ’s  true  to  man  ;  wherever  wrong  is  done 
To  the  humblest  and  the  weakest,  ’neath  the  all-beholding  sun, 
That  wrong  is  also  done  to  us  ;  and  they  are  slaves  most  base 
Whose  love  of  right  is  for  themselves,  and  not  for  all  their  race.” 

— Lowell. 


/\  KWifcvco  sy  ,  _  v\<rw  E*v»U~^  -V  VUw  ¥,-^<7— 

<3  -  7  2-  *  •Se-C-v\<z<*^--  VWa-A-o  ^  y  ^  V 

7  ' 


CHAPTER  I. 


A  CHAPTER  OF  HORRORS. 

CERTIFIED  EVIDENCE  OF  THE  MASSACRE  IN 

SASSOUN. 

WE,  the  undersigned,  by  examination  and  com¬ 
parison,  have  satisfied  ourselves  that  the 
following  statements  are  verbatim  reports, 
written  underthe  dates  which  they  bear,  by  American 
citizens  who  have  spent  from  six  to  thirty  years  in 
Eastern  Turkey.  We  have  examined  also  the  fact 
that  they  are  written  from  six  different  cities  from 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  miles  apart,  but  form¬ 
ing  a  circle  about  the  centre  in  which  the  massacres 
occurred.  For  the  personal  safety  of  the  writers  the 
names  of  the  places  cannot  now  be  made  public. 
They  are  independent  reports  from  a  country  where 
refugees  and  returned  soldiers  of  the  Sultan  speak  of 
what  they  know.  We  have  the  utmost  confidence 
in  these  statements  and  regard  them  worthy  the 
belief  of  all  men. 

In  the  name  of  a  suffering  humanity  we  urge  the 
careful  perusal  of  these  statements,  and  recommend 
that  all  readers  take  measures  to  make  the  indig¬ 
nation  of  an  outraged  Christian  world  effectually 
felt.  We  deprecate  revolution  among  these  helpless 
Turkish  subjects,  but  bespeak  cordial  co-operation 
in  bringing  to  bear  upon  Turkey  the  force  of  the 
righteous  condemnation  of  our  seventy  millions  of 
people. 

i 


£,  a?^. 


r*r'&%*mC**t 


FREDERIC  T.  GREENHALGE 


Governor  of  Massachusetts. 


FRANCES  E.  WILLARD 

President  National  W.  C.  T.  U. 


WM.  LLOYD  GARRISON 
SAMUEL  J.  BARROWS 

Editor  Christian  Register. 

GEO.  C.  LORIMER 

Pastor  Tremont  Temple,  Boston. 


WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 

Pastor  Shawmut  Church,  Boston. 


H.  M.  JEWETT 

Ex-U.  S.  Consul,  Sivas,  Turkey.1 


MARY  A.  LIVERMORE 

Author  and  Lecturer. 

ALPHEUS  H.  HARDY 
FRANCIS  E.  CLARK 

Pres.  United  Society  Christian  Endeavor. 


Brother  and  predecessor  of  the  present  Consul  Jewett,  at  Sivas. 

3 


EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE 


Pastor  New  South  Congregational  Church,  Boston. 


JULIA  WARD  HOWE 

Author  and  Lecturer. 


FRANCIS  A.  WALKER 

Pres.  Mass.  Instit.  of  Technology. 


A.  E.  PILLSBURY 

Ex-Attorney-General  of  Massachusetts. 


ISABEL  SOMERSET 

Lady  Henry  Somerset. 


CYRUS  HAMLIN 

Founder  of  Robert  College. 


I.  J.  LANSING 

Pastor  Park  Street  Church,  Boston. 


JOSEPH  COOK 

Author  and  Lecturer. 


WM.  E.  RUSSELL 

Ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

JONATHAN  A.  LANE 

Pres.  Boston  Merchants’  Association. 

i 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE  BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


THESE  letters  are  written  by  men  who  can  have 
no  possible  motive  for  misrepresenting  the 
facts  in  the  case,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
each  writer  subjected  himself  to  personal  danger  by 
putting  such  statements  upon  paper  and  sending 
them  through  the  mails.  Several  of  the  documents 
have  gotten  through  Turkey  by  circuitous  routes,  in 
some  instances  having  been  sent  by  special  messenger 
to  Persia,  and  so  on  to  this  country.  Others  were 
never  risked  in  the  Turkish  mails,  but  have  come 
through  the  British  post-office  at  Constantinople. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  writer  was  an 
eye-witness  of  the  actual  massacre  ;  nor  could  he 
have  been,  inasmuch  as  the  whole  region  was  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  military  cordon  during  the  massacre 
and  for  months  after.  The  letters  are  largely  based 
on  the  testimony  of  refugees  from  that  region,  or  of 
Kurds  and  soldiers  who  participated  in  the  butchery, 
and  who  had  no  hesitation  in  speaking  about  the 
affair  in  public  or  private  until  long  after,  when  the 
prospect  of  a  European  investigation  sealed  their 
lips.  Much  of  the  evidence  is,  therefore,  essentially 
first  hand,  having  been  obtained  from  eye-witnesses, 

06 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


7 


by  parties  in  the  vicinity  at  the  time,  who  are  im¬ 
partial,  thoroughly  experienced  in  sifting  Oriental 
testimony,  familiar  with  the  Turkish  and  Armenian 
languages,  and  of  the  highest  veracity.  No  one  letter 
would  have  much  force  if  taken  alone,  for  it  might 
be  a  large  report  of  a  small  matter  ;  but  these  eleven 
letters  are  written  independently  of  one  another,  at 
different  times,  and  from  seven  different  cities  widely 
apart,  five  of  them  forming  a  circle  around  the  scene 
of  destruction.  The  evidence  is  cumulative  and 
overwhelming. 

There  is  absolute  unanimity  to  this  extent  :  that 
a  gigantic  and  indescribably  horrible  massacre  of 
Armenian  men,  women,  and  children  did  actually 
take  place  in  the  Sassoun  and  neighboring  regions 
about  Sept.  I,  1894,  and  that,  too,  at  the  hands  of 
Kurdish  troops  armed  by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  as 
well  as  of  regular  soldiers  sent  under  orders  from  the 
same  source.  What  those  orders  were  will  probably 
never  transpire.  That  they  were  executed  under  the 
personal  direction  of  high  Turkish  military  officers  is 
clear.  There  can  also  be  no  doubt — for  the  official 
notice  from  the  palace  was  printed  in  the  Constan¬ 
tinople  papers  in  November  last — that  Zekki  Pasha, 
Commander  of  the  Fourth  Army  Corps,  who  led  the 
regular  troops  in  the  work  of  extermination,  has 
since  been  specially  honored  by  a  decoration  from 
the  Sultan,  who  was  also  pleased  to  send  silk  banners 
to  the  four  leading  Kurdish  chiefs,  by  a  special  mes¬ 
senger. 

The  latest,  most  accurate,  and  comprehensive  doc¬ 
ument  in  this  correspondence  is  No.  6. 


8 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Vice-Consul  Shipley,  representing  Great  Britain  in 
the  inquiry  held  at  Moosh  from  January  24  to  July 
21,  1895,  substantiates  the  evidence  published  in  this 
chapter  a  year  ago  : 

“  We  [Messrs.  Vilbert,  Shipley ,  and  Prjevalsky,  the 
representatives  of  France,  England,  and  Russia ]  have, 
in  our  report,  given  it  as  our  conviction,  arrived  at 
from  the  evidence  brought  before  us,  that  the  Ar¬ 
menians  were  massacred  without  distinction  of  age  or 
sex ;  and,  indeed,  for  a  period  of  some  three  weeks, 
viz.,  from  the  12th  of  Aug.  to  the  efth  of  Sept. 
( O.S. ),  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Armenians 
were  absolutely  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  being  killed 
wherever  they  were  met,  and  if  the  slaughter  was  not 
greater,  it  was,  I  believe,  solely  owing  to  the  vastness 
of  the  mountain  ranges  of  that  district,  which  enabled 
the  people  to  'scatter  and  so  facilitated  their  escape. 
In  fact,  and  speaking  with  a  frill  sense  of  responsi¬ 
bility,  I  am  compelled  to  say  that  the  conviction  has 
forced  itself  upon  me,  that  it  was  not  so  much  the 
capture  of  the  agitator  Mourad,  or  the  suppression  of 
a  pseudo  revolt,  which  was  desired  by  the  Turkish 
authorities ,  as  the  extermination,  pure  and  simple,  of 
the  Ghelieguzan  and  Talori  districts 1 

British  Vice-Consul  Hampson,  who  made  a  tour  of 
the  whole  region  in  August,  1895,  adds  : 

“  That  large  numbers  perished  seems  certain,  the 
whole  region  being  absolutely  surrounded  by  Kurds  and 
soldiers  under  the  Mutessarif  of  Guendj,  and  Major 
Sali  Ejfendi,  nozv  in  command.  Nobody  and  nothing 
belonging  to  the  Armenians  was  purposely  spared T 2 

1  Blue  Book,  Turkey,  1895,  No.  1,  Part  I.,  p.  206.  2  Ibid.,  p.  200, 


THE  EVIDENCE. 


No.  i. 

[The  reader  should  take  notice  that  this  first  letter 
was  written  over  four  months  before  the  massacre 
actually  occurred.] 

D  .  .  .,  April  3,  1894. 

It  does  seem  in  this  region  as  if  the  government 
were  bent  on  reducing  all  those  who  survive  the 
process  to  a  grovelling  poverty,  when  they  can  think 
of  nothing  more  than  getting  their  daily  bread. 
There  is  good  reason  for  thinking  that  unless  so- 
called  Christian  nations  extend  a  helping  hand,  they 
[the  Armenians]  will  become  wellnigh  extinct.  Of 
course  I  do  not  sympathize  in  any  way  with  the  ex¬ 
tremists  in  other  lands  who  are  stirring  things  up 
here.  Nor  do  I  agree  with  those  papers  that  decry 
this  movement  as  very  foolish  because  there  is  no 
hope  for  success.  If  I  rightly  interpret  the  move¬ 
ment  in  this  region,  the  thought  is  not  revolution  at 
all,  but  a  desperate  effort  to  call  the  attention  of 
Europe  to  the  wrongs  they  are  suffering  and  will 
ever  continue  to  suffer  under  this  government.  They 
feel  that  they  will  never  succeed  in  attracting  that 


9 


io  The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

attention  unless  they  show  that  they  are  desperate 
enough  to  sacrifice  their  lives.  And  there  is  no  com¬ 
puting  the  lives  that  are  going ,  not  in  open  massacre  as 
in  Bulgaria — the  government  knows  better  than  that . — 
but  in  secret,  silent,  secluded  ways.  The  sooner  it  is 
known,  the  better.  There  never  will  be  peaceful, 
prosperous  conditions  here  until  others  take  hold 
with  a  strong  hand. 


VICTIMS  OF  TURKISH  TAXATION  ABANDONING  THEIR 

VILLAGE  HOMES. 

No.  2. 

[This  is  the  first  report  of  the  massacre.] 

t 

D  .  .  .,  Sept.  26,  1894. 

Troops  have  been  massed  in  the  region  of  the 
large  plain  near  us.  Sickness  broke  out  among  them, 
which  took  off  two  or  three  victims  every  few  days. 
It  was  a  good  excuse  for  establishing  the  quarantine 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors .  1 1 

around,  with  its  income  from  bribes,  charges,  and 
the  inevitable  rise  in  the  price  of  the  already  dear 
grain.  I  suspect  that  one  reason  for  placing  quaran¬ 
tine  was  to  hinder  the  information  as  to  what  all 
those  troops  were  about  in  that  region.  There 
seems  little  doubt  that  there  has  been  repeated  in 
the  region  back  of  Moosh  what  took  place  in  1876 
in  Bulgaria.  The  sickening  details  are  beginning  to 
come  in.  As  in  that  case,  it  has  been  the  innocent 

V 

who  have  been  the  greatest  sufferers.  Forty-eight 
villages  are  said  to  have  been  wholly  blotted  out. 


No.  3. 

[Efforts  to  conceal  the  truth  as  soon  as  Vice-Con¬ 
sul  Hallward  arrived  on  the  scene,  and  to  ward  off 
investigation.] 

D  .  .  .,  Oct.  3,  1894. 

As  the  time  goes  on  the  extent  of  the  slaughter 
seems  to  be  confirmed  as  greater  than  was  first  sup¬ 
posed.  Six  thousand  is  a  low  figure — it  is  probably 
nearer  ten.  Mr.  Hallward,  the  new  [English]  Consul 
at  Van,  has  gone  directly  there,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  other  consuls  from  Erzroom  have  also  been  sent 
to  investigate.  The  government  tried  to  get  the 
people  here  to  sign  an  address  to  the  Sovereign,  ex¬ 
pressing  satisfaction  with  his  rule,  disclaiming  sym¬ 
pathy  with  the  Armenians  who  have  “  stirred  matters 
up,”  stating  that  the  thousands  slain  in  Talvoreeg 
met  their  just  deserts,  and  that  the  four  outsiders 
captured  should  be  summarily  punished,  expressing 


15 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


regret  that  it  has  been  thought  best  to  send  consuls 
to  investigate,  and  stating  that  there  was  no  need  for 
their  coming.  From  this  document  we  at  least  get 
some  facts  that  before  were  suppositions.  It  con¬ 
sisted  of  about  two  thousand  words,  and  it  was  ex¬ 
pected  that  it  would  be  sent  by  telegraph  with  at 
least  a  thousand  signatures.  The  Armenians  here 
have  not  yet  signed  it,  though  in  four  districts  simi¬ 
lar  papers  have  been  secured  properly  sealed.  The 
effect  of  such  papers  on  foreigners  will  be  much  modi¬ 
fied  when  they  know  the  means  used  to  procure  them. 
Sword,  famine,  pestilence,  all  at  once — pity  this 
poor  country ! 

No.  4. 

[The  following  is  from  a  different  source.] 

A  .  .  .,  Oct.  31,  1894. 

We  have  word  from  Bitlis  that  the  destruction  of 
life  in  Sassoun,  south  of  Moosh,  was  even  greater 
than  was  supposed.  The  brief  note  which  has 
reached  us  says :  “  Twenty-seven  villages  annihi¬ 
lated  in  Sassoun.  Six  thousand  men,  women,  and 
children  massacred  by  troops  and  Kourds.  This 
awful  story  is  just  beginning  to  be  known  here, 
though  the  massacre  took  place  early  in  September. 
The  Turks  have  used  infinite  pains  to  prevent  news 
leaking  out,  even  going  to  the  length  of  sending 
back  from  Trebizond  many  hundreds  from  the  Moosh 
region  who  had  come  this  way  on  business.”  This 
massacre  was  ordered  from  Constantinople  in  the 
sense  that  some  Kourds  having  robbed  Armenian 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 


13 


villages  of  flocks,  the  Armenians  pursued  and  tried 
to  recover  their  property,  and  a  fight  ensued  in 
which  a  dozen  Kourds  were  killed.  The  slain  were 
“  semi-official  robbers,”  i.  e.,  enrolled  as  troops  and 
armed  as  such,  but  not  under  control.  The  authori¬ 
ties  then  telegraphed  to  Constantinople  that  Arme¬ 
nians  had  “  killed  some  of  the  Sultan’s  troops.”  The 
Sultan  at  once  ordered  infantry  and  cavalry  to  put 
down  the  Armenian  rebellion,  and  they  did  it ;  only, 
not  finding  any  rebellion,  they  cleared  the  country 
so  that  none  should  occur  in  the  future. 


No.  5. 

[This  from  a  third  place.] 

B  .  .  .,  Nov.  1 6,  1894. 

Last  year  the  Talvoreeg  Armenians  successfully 
resisted  the  attacks  of  the  neighboring  Kourds.  The 
country  became  very  unsettled.  This  year  the  gov¬ 
ernment  interfered  and  sent  detachments  of  regular 
soldiers  to  put  down  the  Armenians.  These  were 
assisted  by  the  Kourdish  Hamediehs  [organized 
troops].  The  Armenians  were  attacked  in  their 
mountain  fastnesses  and  were  finally  reduced  by  the 
failure  of  supplies,  both  of  food  and  ammunition. 
About  a  score  of  villages  were  wiped  out  of  existence 
— people  slaughtered  and  houses  burned. 

A  number  of  able-bodied  young  Armenians  were 
captured,  bound,  covered  with  brushwood  and 
burned  alive.  A  number  of  Armenians,  variously 
estimated,  but  less  than  a  hundred,  surrendered 


14 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


themselves  and  pled  for  mercy.  Many  of  them  were 
shot  down  on  the  spot  and  the  remainder  were  dis¬ 
patched  with  sword  and  bayonet. 

A  lot  of  women,  variously  estimated  from  60  to 
160  in  number,  were  shut  up  in  a  church,  and  the 
soldiers  were  “  let  loose  ”  among  them.  Many  of 
them  were  outraged  to  death  and  the  remainder  dis¬ 
patched  with  sword  and  bayonet.  A  lot  of  young 
women  were  collected  as  spoils  of  war.  Two  stories 
are  told.  I.  That  they  were  carried  off  to  the  harems 
of  their  Moslem  captors.  2.  That  they  were  offered 
Islam  and  the  harems  of  their  Moslem  captors, — re¬ 
fusing,  they  were  slaughtered.  Children  were  placed 
in  a  row,  one  behind  another,  and  a  bullet  fired  down 
the  line,  apparently  to  see  how  many  could  be  dis¬ 
patched  with  one  bullet.  Infants  and  small  children 
were  piled  one  on  the  other  and  their  heads  struck 
off.  Houses  were  surrounded  by  soldiers,  set  on  fire, 
and  the  inmates  forced  back  into  the  flames  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  as  they  tried  to  escape. 

But  this  is  enough  of  the  carnage  of  death.  Esti¬ 
mates  vary  from  3000  to  8000  for  the  number  of 
persons  massacred.  These  are  sober  estimates.  Wild 
estimates  place  the  number  as  high  as  20,000  to 
25,000. 

This  all  took  place  during  the  latter  part  of  August 
and  [early  part  of]  September.  The  arrival  of  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Fourth  Army  Corps  put  a 
stop  to  the  carnage.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
massacres  were  perpetrated  by  regular  soldiers,  for 
the  most  part  under  command  of  officers  of  high 
rank.  This  gives  this  affair  a  most  serious  aspect. 


15 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 

A  Christian  does  not  enjoy  the  respect  accorded 
to  street  dogs.  If  this  massacre  passes  without  notice 
it  will  simply  become  the  declaration  of  the  doom  of 
the  Christians.  There  will  be  no  security  for  the  life, 
property,  or  honor  of  a  Christian.  A  week  ago  last 
Tuesday  evening  at  sundown  a  Turk  kidnapped  the 
wife  of  a  wealthy  Armenian  merchant  of  the  town 
of  Khanoos  Pert.  Next  morning  her  cries  were  over¬ 
heard  by  searchers  and  she  was  rescued  from  a 
Turkish  house.  No  redress  is  possible. 

Wild  rumors  have  been  abroad  for  a  long  time,  but 
trustworthy  information  came  to  hand  slowly.  Every¬ 
thing  has  been  done  to  hush  it  all  up.  Some  of  the 
minor  details  of  the  stories  I  have  told  above  may  not 
be  exact,  but  I  feel  quite  certain  they  are  in  the  main. 
However,  that  a  cruelly  barbarous  and  extensive 
massacre  of  Christians  by  regular  soldiers  assisted  by 
Kourdish  Hamediehs,  under  command  of  officers  of 
rank  and  responsibility,  has  occurred  cannot  be 
denied. 

What  now  will  the  Christian  world  do? 


♦No.  6. 

[This  is  the  most  complete  account,  compiled  on 
the  ground.  The  following  document  was  carefully 
prepared  in  common  by  parties,  the  signature  of 
any  one  of  whom  would  be  of  sufficient  guaranty 
to  give  great  weight.  One  of  the  party,  who  is 
largely  responsible  for  the  data  given,  is  a  man  of 
high  position  and  wide  influence.  The  material  was 
collected  with  the  greatest  difficulty  and  under  the 


1 6 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


constant  espionage  of  Turkish  officials.  Armenian 
Christians  who  were  known  to  appear  at  the  place 
where  the  writer  was  staying,  were  arrested  and  some 
are  yet  in  prison  if  they  have  not  met  a  worse  fate 
already.  The  documents  were  sent  by  secret,  special 
carriers  into  Persia  and  came  by  Persian  post  to  the 
United  States.  They  left  Turkey  about  the  last  of 
November,  1894.  This  document  alone  is  sufficient 
to  stir  the  indignation  of  a  Christian  world.] 

C  .  .  .,  Nov.,  1894. 

There  is  uneasiness  in  Bitlis  as  to  the  safety  of  that 
city.  Scrutiny  of  the  mails  by  the  Turkish  authori¬ 
ties  continues,  and  some  letters  addressed  to  resi¬ 
dents  and  officials  in  the  United  States  are  failing 
to  arrive. 

The  Hamedieh  soldiers,  who  are  Kourds,  and  who 
have  been  enrolled  during  the  past  three  years,  are 
uniformed  to  some  extent,  but  left  in  their  homes. 
They  are  committing  all  kinds  of  depredations.  The 
government  continues  to  exact  taxes  in  the  plun¬ 
dered  districts,  sends  zabtiehs,  or  Turkish  soldiers, 
to  abide  in  the  villages,  and  eat  the  people  out  of 
provisions  until  in  some  way  they  manage  to  secure 
the  money.  In  the  Bashkalla  region  many  of  the 
men  find,  on  returning,  that  the  government  has 
taken  possession  of  their  property  and  refuses  to 
restore  it  or  allow  them  to  remain  in  their  old  homes. 

The  authorities  have  taken  and  are  taking  every 
precaution  to  prevent  accounts  of  the  famous  mas¬ 
sacre  of  Moosh  from  reaching  the  outside  world. 
The  E  nglish  consul,  Mr.  Hallward,  went  on  a  tour  in 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


*7 


the  region  affected.  He  was  subjected  to  constant 
annoying  espionage,  and  was  absolutely  unable  to 
penetrate  into  the  devastated  region. 

To  what  extent  Armenian  agitation  has  provoked 
the  terrible  massacre  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  For 
a  year  or  more  there  seems  to  have  been  an  Arme¬ 
nian  from  Constantinople  staying  in  the  region  as  an 
agitator.  For  a  long  time  he  skilfully  evaded  his 
pursuers,  but  was  at  last  caught  and  taken  to  Bitlis. 
He  demanded  to  be  taken  to  Constantinople  and  to 
the  Sultan,  and,  it  is  said,  he  is  now  living  at  the 
capital,  receiving  a  large  salary  from  the  govern¬ 
ment.  Evidently  he  has  turned  state’s  evidence. 

FACTS  REGARDING  A  MASSACRE  AT  SASSOUN,  NEAR 

MOOSH,  TURKEY. 

Late  in  May,  1893,  an  outside  agitator  named 
Damatian  was  captured  near  Moosh.  The  gov¬ 
ernment  had  suspected  that  the  Talvoreeg  vil¬ 
lages  were  harboring  such  agitators,  and  had 
sent  orders  to  certain  Kourdish  chiefs  to  attack  the 
district,  assuming  the  responsibility  for  all  they 
should  kill,  and  promising  the  Kourds  all  the  spoil. 

Not  long  after  Damatian  had  been  brought  to 
Bitlis,  the  first  week  in  June,  the  Bakranlee  Kourds 
began  to  gather  below  Talvoreeg.  As  the  villagers 
saw  the  Kourds  gathering  day  by  day,  to  the  num¬ 
ber  of  several  thousands,  they  suspected  their  de¬ 
signs,  and  began  to  make  preparations.  On  the 
eighth  day  the  battle  was  joined.  The  stronger 
position  of  the  villagers  enabled  them  to  do  con- 
siderable  execution  with  little  loss  to  themselves. 


1 8  .  *  The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 

The  issue  of  the  contest  at  sunset  was  some  one 
hundred  Kourds  slain,  and  but  six  of  the  villagers, 
one  of  whom  was  a  woman  who  was  trying  to  rescue 
a  mule  from  the  Kourds.  The  villagers  had  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  breaking  down  a  bridge  across  the  deep 
gorge  of  a  river  before  a  detachment  of  Kourds  from 
another  direction  could  join  in  the  attack  against 
them.  The  Kourds  thus  felt  themselves  worsted, 

and  could  not  be  induced  to  make  another  attack 

/  » 

that  summer. 

At  this  juncture  the  Governor-general  set  out 
with  troops  and  two  field-pieces  for  Moosh,  and  in¬ 
fested  the  region  near  Talvoreeg,  but  either  he  con¬ 
sidered  his  forces  insufficient,  or  he  had  orders  to 
keep  quiet,  for  he  made  no  attack,  but  merely  had 
the  troops  keep  siege.  Before  leaving,  he  succeeded, 
by  giving  hostages,  in  having  an  interview  with  some 
of  the  chief  men  in  Talvoreeg,  and  asked  them  why 
they  did  not  submit  to  the  government,  and  pay 
taxes.  They  replied  that  they  were  not  disloyal  to 
the  government,  but  that  they  could  not  pay  taxes 
twice,  to  the  Kourds  and  to  the  government.  If 
the  government  would  protect  them,  they  would 
pay  to  it.  Nothing  came  of  the  parley,  and  the 
siege  was  continued  till  snow  fell.  During  the  win¬ 
ter,  while  blackmail  was  rife  in  the  vilayet,  several 
rich  men  of  Talvoreeg  were  invited  to  visit  the 
Governor-General,  but  did  not  see  best  to  accept. 

In  the  early  spring  the  Kourds  of  several  tribes 
were  ordered  to  attack  the  villages  of  Sassoun,  while 
troops  were  sent  on  from  Moosh  and  Bitlis,  the  latter 
taking  along  ammunition  and  stores,  and  ten  mule- 


REVIEW  OF  KURDISH  CAVALRY  BY  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  VAN,  BAHRI  PASHA — AT  THE  LEFT, 


20 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


loads  of  kerosene  (eighty  cans).  The  whole  district 
was  pretty  well  besieged  by  Kourds  and  troops. 
The  villages  thus  besieged  would  occasionally  make 
sorties  to  secure  food. 

The  Kourds  on  one  occasion  stole  several  oxen, 
and  their  owners  tracked  their  property  to  the 
Kourdish  tents,  and  found  that  one  ox  had  been 
butchered.  They  asked  for  the  others,  and  were 
refused,  whereupon  the  villagers  left,  and  later  re¬ 
turned  \^ith  some  companions.  A  scrimmage  ensued, 
in  which  two  or  three  were  killed  on  either  side. 
The  Kourds  at  once  took  their  dead  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  at  Moosh,  and  reported  that  the  region  was 
filled  with  Armenian  and  foreign  soldiers.  The 
government  at  once  sent  in  all  directions  for  sol¬ 
diers,  gathering  in  all  from  eight  to  ten  taboors 
(regiments).  Kourds  congregated  to  the  number  of 
about  twenty  thousand,  while  some  five  hundred 
Hamedieh  horsemen  were  brought  to  Moosh. 

i 

METHODS  OF  PROCEDURE  AND  INCIDENTS  OF  THE 

MASSACRE. 

At  first  the  Kourds  were  set  on,  and  the  troops 
kept  out  of  sight.  The  villagers,  put  to  the 
fight,  and  thinking  they  had  only  the  Kourds  to 
do  with,  repulsed  them  on  several  occasions.  The 
Kourds  were  unwilling  to  do  more  unless  the  troops 
assisted.  Some  of  the  troops  assumed  Kourdish 
dress,  and  helped  them  in  the  fight  with  more  suc¬ 
cess.  Small  companies  of  troops  entered  several 
villages,  saying  they  had  come  to  protect  them  as 
loyal  subjects,  and  were  quartered  among  the  houses. 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 


21 


In  the  night  they  arose  and  slew  the  sleeping  vil¬ 
lagers,  man,  woman,  and  child. 

By  this  time  those  in  other  villages  were  beginning 
to  feel  that  extermination  was  the  object  of  the 
government,  and  desperately  determined  to  sell 
their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  And  then  began  a 
campaign  of  butchery  that  lasted  some  twenty-three 
days,  or,  roughly,  from  the  middle  of  August  to  the 
middle  of  September.  The  Ferik  Pasha  [Marshal 
Zekki  Pasha],  who  came  post-haste  from  Erzingan, 
read  the  Sultan’s  firman  for  extermination,  and 
then,  hanging  the  document  on  his  breast,  exhorted 
the  soldiers  not  to  be  found  wanting  in  their  duty. 
On  the  last  day  of  August,  the  anniversary  of  the 
Sultan's  accession ,  the  soldiers  were  especially  urged  to 
distinguish  themselves,  and  they  made  it  the  day  of  the 
greatest  slaughter.  Another  marked  day  occurred  a 
few  days  earlier,  being  marked  by  the  occurrence  ot 
a  wonderful  meteor. 

No  distinctions  were  made  between  persons  or 
villages,  as  to  whether  they  were  loyal  and  had  paid 
their  taxes  or  not.  The  orders  were  to  make  a  clean 
sweep.  A  priest  and  some  leading  men  from  one 
village  went  out  to  meet  an  officer,  taking  in  their 
hands  their  tax  receipts,  declaring  their  loyalty,  and 
begging  for  mercy;  but  the  village  was  surrounded, 
and  all  human  beings  put  to  the  bayonet.  A  large 
and  strong  man,  the  chief  of  one  village,  was  cap¬ 
tured  by  the  Kourds,  who  tied  him,  threw  him  on 
the  ground,  and,  squatting  around  him,  stabbed  him 
to  pieces. 

At  Galogozan  many  young  men  were  tied  hand 


22 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


and  foot,  laid  in  a  row,  covered  with  brushwood  and 
burned  alive.  Others  were  seized  and  hacked  to 
death  piecemeal.  At  another  village  a  priest  and 
several  leading  men  were  captured,  and  promised 
release  if  they  would  tell  where  others  had  fled,  but, 
after  telling,  all  but  the  priest  were  killed.  A  chain 
was  put  around  the  priest’s  neck,  and  pulled  from 
opposite  sides  till  he  was  several  times  choked  and 
revived,  after  which  several  bayonets  were  planted 
upright,  and  he  raised  in  the  air  and  let  fall  upon  them. 

The  men  of  one  village,  when .  fleeing,  took  the 
women  and  children,  some  five  hundred  in  number, 
and  placed  them  in  a  sort  of  grotto  in  a  ravine. 
After  several  days  the  soldiers  found  them,  and 
butchered  those  who  had  not  died  of  hunger. 

Sixty 'young  women  and  girls  were  selected  from 
one  village  and  placed  in  a  church,  when  the  soldiers 
were  ordered  to  do  with  them  as  they  liked,  after 
which  they  were  butchered. 

In  another  village  fifty  choice  women  were  set 
aside  and  urged  to  change  their  faith  and  become 
hanums  in  Turkish  harems,  but  they  indignantly 
refused  to  deny  Christ,  preferring  the  fate  of  their 
fathers  and  husbands.  People  were  crowded  into 
houses  which  were  then  set  on  fire.  In  one  instance 
a  little  boy  ran  out  of  the  flames,  but  was  caught  on 
a  bayonet  and  thrown  back. 

Children  were  frequently  held  up  by  the  hair  and 
cut  in  two,  or  had  their  jaws  torn  apart.  Women 
with  child  were  ripped  open  ;  older  children  were 
pulled  apart  by  their  legs.  A  handsome,  newly 
wedded  couple  fled  to  a  hilltop ;  soldiers  followed, 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


23 


and  told  them  they  were  pretty  and  would  be  spared 
if  they  would  accept  Islam,  but  the  thought  of  the 
horrible  death  they  knew  would  follow  did  not  pre¬ 
vent  them  from  confessing  Christ. 

The  last  stand  took  place  on  Mount  Andoke 
[south  of  Moosh],  where  some  thousand  persons  had 
sought  refuge.  The  Kourds  were  sent  in  relays  to 
attack  them,  but  for  ten  or  fifteen  days  were  unable 
to  get  at  them.  The  soldiers  also  directed  the  fire 
of  their  mountain  guns  on  them,  doing  some  execu¬ 
tion.  Finally,  after  the  besieged  had  been  without 
food  for  several  days,  and  their  ammunition  was  ex¬ 
hausted,  the  troops  succeeded  in  reaching  the  sum¬ 
mit  without  any  loss,  and  let  scarcely  a  man  escape. 

Now  all  turned  their  attention  to  those  who  had 
been  driven  into  the  Talvoreeg  district.  Three  or 
four  thousand  of  the  besieged  were  left  in  this  small 
plain.  When  they  saw  themselves  thickly  sur¬ 
rounded  on  all  sides  by  Turks  and  Kourds,  they 
raised  their  hands  to  heaven  with  an  agonizing  moan 
for  deliverance.  They  were  thinned  out  by  rifle 
shots,  and  the  remainder  were  slaughtered  with 
bayonets  and  swords,  till  a  veritable  river  of  blood 
flowed  from  the  heaps  of  the  slain. 

And  so  ended  the  massacre,  for  the  timely  arrival 
of  the  Mushire  [Commander-in-chief  of  the  Fourth 
Army  Corps  at  Erzingan]  saved  a  few  prisoners 
alive,  and  prevented  the  extermination  of  four  more 
villages  that  were  on  the  list  to  be  destroyed,  among 
which  was  the  Protestant  village  of  Havodorick. 
This  was  the  formidable  army  the  government  had 
massed  so  many  troops  and  Kourds  to  vanquish. 


24 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


For  God’s  sake  do  not  let  the  public  conscience  go 
to  sleep  again  over  this  reign  of  terror.  The  land  is 
almost  paralyzed  with  horror  and  terror  ! 


No.  7. 

[The  crisis  and  the  need  of  keeping  the  issue  clear. 
The  real  explanation  of  the  massacre.] 

A  .  .  .,  Jan.  7,  1895. 

The  importance  of  the  present  crisis  grows  upon 
me.  In  the  first  place  Turkey  is  preparing  for  a  ter¬ 
rible  catastrophe  by  squeezing  Armenians,  and  arm¬ 
ing  Moslem  civilians  in  Sivas,  Aleppo,  Castamouni, 
and  other  provinces  ;  and  in  the  second  place  it  is 
putting  on  the  screws  tighter  everywhere  excepting 
in  the  three  eastern  provinces  where  the  Commission 
is  now  commencing  investigation.  In  Van  and  Bit- 
lis  the  process  of  arresting  and  intimidating  witnesses 
went  on  until  the  very  hour  of  the  departure  of  the 
Commission  of  Investigation.  Then  the  order  went 
out  to  stop,  and  those  provinces  are  enjoying  the 
first  semblance  of  quiet  that  they  have  known  for 
five  years. 

This  policy  of  continued  massacre  and  outrage  is 
favored  by  the  profound  ignorance  which  prevails 
everywhere  as  to  the  actual  state  of  things  in  Turkey. 
People  think  that  the  Sassoun  massacre  is  something 
exceptional,  and  that  until  that  is  proved  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a  need  of  European  interference  in  behalf 
of  Christians  in  Turkey.  What  ought  to  be  done  is 
to  fix  on  the  mind  of  the  public  the  fact  that  Turkey 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 


25 


has  taken  up  the  policy  of  crushing  the  Christians  all 
over  the  Empire,  and  has  been  at  it  for  several  years, 
so  that  even  if  the  massacre  had  not  taken  place,  the 
duty  of  Europe  to  prohibit  Turkey  from  acting  the 
part  of  Anti-Christ  was  still  self-evident. 


NAREG  :  ANCIENT  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  HOVELS. 

NO.  8. 

B  .  .  Jan.  12,  1895. 

The  people  are  in  a  state  of  horror  because  of  the 
massacre.  The  Commission  has  been  expected  for 
some  time,  and  without  doubt  the  local  authorities 
have  used  every  means  to  cover  up  their  tracks  and 

terrorize  still  further  those  who  may  be  probable 

3 


26 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


witnesses.  Those  who  are  encouraged  to  testify  will 
be  again  at  the  mercy  of  the  Turks  after  the  Com¬ 
mission  rises.  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
some  will  be  courageous  enough  to  testify,  but  it 
will  be  at  great  odds.  Almost  everything  is  against 
the  perfect  success  of  the  Commission’s  work,  or 
rather  the  favorable  outcome  of  the  work  of  the 
European  delegates.  It  will  not  be  right  to  stake 
the  fate  of  Armenia  on  the  outcome  of  the  work  of 
this  Commission. 

Rather  it  should  be  remembered  that  Sassoun  is 
the  outcome  of  a  governmental  system.  There  have 
been  hundreds  of  Sassouns  all  over  the  country  all 
through  the  last  ten  years,  as  you  know.  The  laxity 
of  Europe  has  afforded  opportunity  for  the  merciless 
working  of  this  system  in  all  its  vigor.  It  is  born  of 
religious  and  race  hatred,  and  has  in  mind  the  crush¬ 
ing  of  Christianity  and  Christians. 

It  is  not  the  Kourdish  robbers,  or  famine,  or  chol¬ 
era  that  have  to  answer  for  the  present  state  of  the 
country.  It  is  rather  the  robbery,  and  famine,  and 
worse  than  cholera  entailed  on  the  country  by  the 
workings  of  this  system.  It  is  not  alone  the  blood 
of  five  thousand  men,  women,  children,  and  babies, 
that  rises  in  a  fearful  wail  to  heaven,  calling  for 
just  vengeance,  but  also  the  fearful  suffering,  the 
desolate  homes,  the  wanton  cruelty  of  tax  collectors 
and  petty  officials,  and  the  violated  honor  of  scores 
and  scores. 

V 

The  Turk  is  on  trial.  Let  not  Sassoun  alone  go 
in  evidence,  but  remember  that  the  same  wail  rises 
from  all  over  the  country. 


27 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 

No.  9. 

[From  a  graduate  of  an  American  school.] 

# 

[Translated.] 

G  .  .  .,  Nov.  4,  1894. 

“  I  implore  that  you  will  remember  one  of  your 
former  pupils ,  and  hear  my  cry .  Oh,  woe  is  me, 
eternal  pain  and  sorrow  to  my  young  heart  !  Evil 
disposed  and  lawless  men  have  robbed  me  of  the  bloom 


ARMENIAN  GIRLS  OF  VAN. 


and  beauty  of  my  wifely  purity.  It  was  H - Bey 

the  son  of  the  Kaimakam  ( the  local  Turkish  Governor 
residing  in  the  village ).  I  was  engaged  in  my  house¬ 
hold  work.  I  stepped  outside  the  door,  when  I  suddenly 
found  myself  in  the  grasp  of  four  men.  They  smoth¬ 
ered  my  cries  and  threatened  my  life ,  and  by  force 
carried  me  off  to  a  strange  house.  Though  this  is 
written  with  ink,  believe  me,  it  is  written  in  blood  and 
tears .” 


28 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


THE  SEQUEL  TO  SASSOUN. 

The  Sassoun  massacre,  which  was  first  publicly 
proven  beyond  doubt  by  the  foregoing  evidence,  was 
simply  a  gigantic  murder  of  which  the  perpetrators 
were  the  Sultan’s  regular  and  irregular  troops,  and 
of  which  the  victims  were  four  thousand  hardy, 
brave,  but  helpless  mountaineers,  the  flower  of  the 
Armenian  race.  The  massacre  took  place  early  in 
September,  1894.  Within  a  month,  the  British 
Government  was  in  possession  of  the  main  facts 
through  reports  of  its  own  consuls.  But  instead  of 
taking  prompt  action,  it  spent  several  months  more 
in  polite  correspondence  on  the  subject  with  the 
Powers  and  the  Porte.  After  giving  his  officials 
four  months  in  which  to  clear  up  the  evidences  of 
their  crime,  the  Sultan  sent  a  “  Commission  of  In¬ 
quiry  ”  to  investigate  at  Moosh.  This  Commission 
was  a  farce  from  beginning  to  end,  for  it  was  com¬ 
posed  of  Turks,  and  the  Sultan  had  already  rewarded 
and  decorated  the  criminals.  England,  France,  and 
Russia,  whose  right  and  duty  it  was  to  have  insti¬ 
tuted  an  investigation  of  their  own,  contented  them¬ 
selves  with  the  “  concession  ”  from  the  Sultan  that 
their  vice-consuls  should  be  allowed  to  attend  the 
sittings  of  the  Commission  as  visitors,  but  without 
the  power  of  summoning  or  protecting  witnesses. 

It  is  clear  that  the  diplomats  did  not  take  the 
Commission  seriously,  for,  without  awaiting  its  report 
they  proceeded  to  prepare  a  “  Scheme  of  Reforms” 
for  the  six  eastern  provinces — namely,  Erzerum,  Van, 
Bitlis,  Diarbekir,  Harpoot,  and  Sivas — and  presented 
it  to  the  Sultan  on  May  1  r,  1895. 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 


29 


These  reforms  were  mild  and  in  the  line  of  what 
the  Turks  had  frequently  promised,  and  their  exe¬ 
cution  was  entrusted  to  the  Sultan.  But  in  spite  of 
all  this  he  obstinately  refused  to  accept  them. 

Spring  and  summer  passed,  the  anniversary  of  the 
Sassoun  massacre  arrived.  No  redress  had  been 
secured,  nor  the  punishment  of  a  single  official,  nor 
the  adoption  of  a  single  reform.  Europe  seemed  to 
be  trying  to  hush  up  the  Armenian  question. 

The  Armenians  felt  that  this  would  mean  the 
sleep  of  death  to  their  race. 

They  had  been  growing  more  and  more  restive 
under  the  long  delay,  and  a  few  hot-heads  decided 
to  have  a  demonstration  in  Constantinople  in  hope 
of  hastening  matters.  They  made  no  secret  of  it, 
representing  that  they  were  simply  going  to  present 
a  petition  to  the  Grand  Vezier  in  an  orderly  manner, 
and  sent  word  to  him  beforehand  of  their  purpose. 
Such  methods  of  securing  attention  to  grievances  are 
common  in  Turkey.  But  the  authorities,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  took  the  wrong  line  of  action.  Instead  of 
letting  the  crowd  go  to  the  Porte  and  present  its 
petition,  as  usage  requires,  thus  passing  the  affair  off 
in  a  quiet  manner,  the  police  were  ordered  to  block 
the  way.  This  led  to  a  riot  on  September  30th, 
during  which  about  twenty  Armenians  were  badly 
hurt,  and  three  of  them  died,  as  well  as  three  of 
the  police. 

The  few  Armenians  who  had  made  a  show  of 
resistance  belonged  to  the  Hunchagist  or  “  agitat¬ 
ing  ”  society.  The  members  of  this  society  are  a 
mere  handful  compared  with  the  mass  of  the  Ar- 


30 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


menian  population,  which  realizes  its  utter  helpless¬ 
ness  and  has  no  thought  of  resistance.  No  one 
understands  this  better  than  the  Turkish  Govern¬ 
ment  ;  but  it  delights  to  find  an  occasional  trace 
of  disloyalty,  in  order  to  brand  the  whole  race  as 
seditious,  and  thus  justify  the  policy  of  cruelty,  im¬ 
poverishment,  and  extermination  which  it  has  been 
deliberately  executing  in  Armenia  for  years,  and  is 
determined  to  continue. 

If  in  defending  their  right  of  petition  the  Ar¬ 
menians  were  guilty,  their  guilt  ends  there,  for  they 
made  no  further  resistance.  But  great  numbers 
of  them  were  arrested  at  once,  and  several  hundred 
were  brutally  killed  in  Constantinople  during  the 
week  by  Mohammedan  civilians  and  Softas ,  or 
religious  students. 

The  following  is  a  significant  extract  from  a 
letter  : 

“Constantinople,  Oct.  5,  1895. 

“The  slaughter  continued  through  Tuesday  and 
Wednesday  morning.  There  was  no  general  attack 
on  houses,  but  a  tendency  to  kill  every  Armenian 
seen  in  the  streets.  This  morning  the  Sultan  sent 
presents  to  the  Softas  engaged  in  the  work.  No 
Mohammedan  has  been  arrested  for  murder  of 
Armenians.  The  worst  feature  of  the  whole  affair 
has  been  the  brutal  murder  of  prisoners  at  the  Min¬ 
istry  of  Police  by  the  officers  charged  with  their 
guardianship.  Several  eye-witnesses  describe  how 
men  were  beaten  to  death  by  the  police  in  the  Court 
of  the  Ministry.  The  clerk  of  a  foreign  consulate 
happened  to  be  there  on  Monday,  and  saw  eight 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors .  3 1 

Armenians  brought  in  from  the  street  and  instantly 
bayoneted.” 

The  massacre  at  Trebizond,  October  8th,  was  the 
first  of  a  series,  and  in  many  respects  was  typical  of 
those  which  rapidly  followed  in  Erzerum,  Erzingan, 
Baiboort,  Sivas,  Marsovan,  Cesarea,  Harpoot,  Bitlis, 
Diarbekir,  Malatia,  Marash,  Aintab  and  other  places 
It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  Trebizond, 
being  a  seaport,  with  a  large  foreign  population  and 
European  consuls,  suffered  less  than  the  cities  of 
the  interior  where  there  were  no  such  restraining 
influences. 

The  following  description  of  the  massacre  at  Tre¬ 
bizond,  is  that  of  an  American  eye-witness  and  was 
written  on  the  spot  at  the  time. 

“Trebizond,  Oct.  9,  1895. 

“  On  Saturday,  October  5th,  the  excitement  in 
town  (over  news  of  the  attacks  on  Armenians  in 
Constantinople)  was  very  intense.  The  Consuls  had 
a  consultation,  and  going  in  a  body  to  the  Governor, 
earnestly  pressed  him  to  arrest  those  who  were 
exciting  the  people  to  acts  of  outrage.  The  Gover¬ 
nor  declined  to  do  so  but  promised  in  his  own  way 
to  do  ‘  the  right  thing  ’  ! 

“  Suddenly  like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  a  clear  sky, 
the  assault  began  at  about  11  A.M.  yesterday.  Un¬ 
suspecting  people  walking  along  the  streets  and 
merchants  sitting  quietly  at  their  shop  doors  were 
shot  ruthlessly  down.  Some  were  slashed  with 
swords  until  life  was  extinct.  They  passed  through 
the  quarters  where  only  old  men,  women,  and  chil- 


32 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


dren  remained,  killing  the  men  and  large  boys,  gen¬ 
erally  permitting  the  women  and  younger  children 
to  live.  For  five  hours  this  horrid  work  of  inhuman 
butchery  went  on.  Then  the  sound  of  musketry 
died  away  and  the  work  of  looting  began.  Every 
shop  of  an  Armenian  in  the  market  was  gutted. 
For  hours  bales  of  broadcloth,  cotton  goods,  and 
every  conceivable  kind  of  merchandise  passed  along 
without  molestation  to  the  houses  of  the  spoilers. 
The  intention  evidently  was  to  impoverish  and  as 
near  as  possible  to  blot  out  the  Armenians  of  this 
town.  So  far  as  appearances  went,  the  police  and 
soldiers  distinctly  aided  in  this  savage  work,  their 
only  care  being  to  see  that  the  right  ones — that  is, 
Armenians — were  killed.” 

“Trep.izond,  Oct.  14,  1895. 

“  Many,  who  even  promised  to  accept  the  religion 
of  Islam,  were  still  most  cruelly  hacked  to  pieces. 

In  this  city  and  vicinity  the  killed  number  1,000, 
almost  exclusively  males.  When  you  consider  that 
the  adult  males  of  the  Armenian  community  did 
not  number  more  than  2,000,  the  frightful  mortality 
is  at  once  understood.  On  the  other  hand,  not  one 
of  the  rioters  has  been  arrested  ;  not  one  has  been 
disarmed.  Apparently  all  this  wholesale  murder  of 
peaceable  and  law-abiding  subjects  of  the  Sultan  is 
no  crime  worthy  of  notice.  The  Armenians  are 
now  so  prostrated  that  they  can  do  nothing.  Relief 
must  come  from  abroad.” 

October  16th  was  a  day  of  rejoicing  in  Constanti¬ 
nople,  but  it  will  b.e  remembered  as  one  of  the 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


33 


blackest  days  in  Armenian  history.  On  that  day 
the  Sultan  professed  to  accept  the  scheme  of  re¬ 
forms  which  for  more  than  five  months  the  Powers 
had  urged  upon  him  in  vain.  What  he  really  did, 
as  subsequent  events  demonstrate  beyond  a  doubt, 
was  to  sign  the  death-warrant  of  the  Armenians  who 
were  to  have  profited  by  the  reforms.  He  had  darkly 
hinted  that  this  would  follow  if  he  were  pushed  too 
hard,  but  no  one  believed  that  he  would  really 
prove  so  vindictive  or  so  foolish  as  to  carry  out  the 
threat.  The  Armenian  leaders  who  were  baffled  in 
trying  to  present  their  petition  on  September  30th, 
had  for  two  weeks  kept  up  a  silent  protest  by  com¬ 
pelling  all  Armenians  to  close  their  shops  in  the 
bazaars.  But  the  granting  of  the  reforms,  which 
was  all  that  the  so-called  “revolutionists”  de¬ 
manded,  produced  at  once  an  enormous  sense  of 
relief,  and  the  streets  were  as  busy  as  ever. 

From  this  time  on  reform  by  massacre  was  the 
order  of  the  day.  The  Armenians  in  city  after  city 
were  quickly  given  over  to  slaughter  and  spoliation. 

The  following  letter,  written  from  Erzerum  within 
three  weeks  after  the  Sultan  accepted  the  reforms, 
shows  with  what  energy,  zeal,  and  good  faith  he 
carried  them  out.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
Shakir  Pasha,  the  Imperial  Reform  Commissioner, 
and  Raouf  Pasha,  the  best  Governor  in  all  the  East¬ 
ern  provinces,  were  in  command  at  Erzerum  : 

“  Erzerum,  Nov.  5,  1895. 

“  The  wave  of  destruction  started  at  Constanti¬ 
nople  and  has  so  far  swept  through  Trebizond,  Bai- 


34 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


boort,  Erzingan,  Erzerum,  Bitlis,  Harpoot,  and  the 
intervening  districts.  The  entire  Erzerum  province 
has  been  deluged  in  Christian  blood  and  the  bulk  of 
Christian  property  plundered  or  destroyed. 

“  The  scheme  of  reform  has  now  become  an  impossi¬ 
bility.  The  only  hope  of  this  land  is  foreign  occu¬ 
pation.  Appeal  for  relief  funds.  The  remnant  of 
the  people  are  left  in  utter  destitution.  They  cannot 
get  out  of  the  country.  Two  cents  a  day  will  give 
a  man  about  a  pound  and  a  half  of  bread.  For  the 
love  of  God  do  all  you  can  to  get  relief  for  these 
wretched  people  ! 

“  The  scene  in  the  cemetery  was  awful.  The  re¬ 
mains  are  simply  the  wrecks  of  human  bodies.  Awful 
cruelty  was  practised.  The  majority  have  bullet 
wounds  in  addition  to  bayonet,  sword,  and  dagger 
cuts.  Some  were  skinned,  some  burned  with  kerosene. 
A  great  many  women  are  missing.  Very  many  of 
the  dead  have  been  disposed  of  by  the  Turks  them¬ 
selves.  There  must  have  been  a  thousand  killed. 
About  seven  hundred  houses  and  fifteen  hundred 
shops  were  plundered  of  all  that  was  in  them.  The 
wanton  destruction  of  property  that  could  not  be 
removed  was  very  marked.  Boxes  and  other  furni¬ 
ture  were  split  to  pieces.  Provisions  that  could  not 
be  carried  away  were  destroyed. 

“  The  Armenians  had  shown  a  great  amount  of 
patience.  I  am  perfectly  .sure  they  had  no  thought 
of  attack,  much  less  any  preparation  for  it.  The 
attack  was  made  by  Moslems  after  leaving  the 
mosques,  after  the  noon  hour  of  prayer,  and  it  was 
simultaneous  all  over  the  city.  The  Armenians 


THE  BURIAL  PIT  AT  ERZERUM. 

From  a  photograph  by  permission  of  Harper  Bros , 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors . 


35 


were  in  their  places  of  business,  which  were  simply 
death-traps.  For  instance,  the  silversmiths’  row  was 
cut  off  at  either  end  and  not  a  man  escaped,  and  the 
shops  were  not  only  plundered  but  wrecked.  In 
fact,  the  most  violent  Armenians,  i.  e.,  the  Huncha- 
gists,  had  determined  to  keep  perfectly  quiet  till  the 
scheme  of  reform  was  well  tried.  The  soldiers  de¬ 
clare  that  they  had  been  instructed  beforehand.  The 
Turks  were  expecting  it  for  a  long  time,  and  evi¬ 
dently  the  orders  were  given  from  Constantinople. 
The  massacre  was  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  military.  It  began  and  ended  with  the  bugle. 

The  following  has  been  received  from  perfectly  trust¬ 
worthy  sources  in  regard  to  the  massacre  at  Sivas  : 

“  The  outbreak  began  on  November  12th  and  was 
‘  permitted  ’  to  continue  for  seven  days  ;  during  this 
‘  bloody  week  ’  about  twelve  hundred  Armenians  and 
ten  Turks  were  killed.  Suddenly  at  noon,  as  if  at  a 
given  signal,  the  Turkish  laborers  seized  their  tools, 
clubs,  or  whatever  was  at  hand  ;  soldiers,  Circassians, 
and  police  their  arms, — all  under  command  of  officers, 
— and  rushed  to  the  market  to  begin  their  dreadful 
work  of  killing,  stripping  the  dead,  and  looting  the 
houses.  No  resistance  was  made  by  the  Armenians. 
Many  of  the  merchants  and  their  clerks  were  killed  ; 
thus  at  one  blow  the  Armenian  element  is  eliminated 
from  the  trade  at  Sivas.  The  Armenian  villagers  in 
the  vicinity  have  been  robbed  of  everything,  and  the 
people  are  left  to  beg  and  die.  The  suffering  on  the 
approach  of  winter  will  be  very  great. 

“  As  the  fury  of  this  storm  of  blood  and  greed 
subsided,  the  stricken  Armenians  of  Sivas  slowly 


36 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


gathered  the  mangled  and  naked  bodies  of  their 
kinsmen  to  their  cemetery,  where  a  great  trench  had 
been  dug  to  hold  the  horrid  harvest  of  death.  A 
single  priest  read  a  short  service  over  the  long  and 
ghastly  rank,  and  thus  was  closed  another  chapter 
in  the  yet  unfinished  story  of  cruelty,  lust,  and 
fanaticism.” 

Similar  reports  from  a  score  of  other  places  might 
be  given,  but  for  the  fact  that  space  and  the  feelings 
of  the  reader  forbid.  The  story  is  the  same  every¬ 
where.  The  greatest  loss  of  life  was  in  the  province 
of  Harpoot  or  Mamouret-ul-Aziz.  Here  15,000  were 
slaughtered.  Letters  from  that  region  state  :  “  The 
Kurds  plunder,  but  do  not  generally  kill  unless  re¬ 
sisted  ;  but  the  Turks  kill  in  cold  blood  and  in  ways 
suggested  by  the  Arch-Fiend  himself.  The  fate  of 
the  survivors  is  even  worse  than  that  of  those  who 
have  been  killed.  The  villagers  wander  about  the 
fields  houseless,  with  scanty  clothing,  no  food,  and 
winter  is  upon  them.  Everywhere  they  meet  with 
the  dread  alternative,  ‘  Become  Moslems  or  die.’  At 
least  fourteen  Protestant  pastors,  besides  Gregorian 
priests  and  hundreds  of  their  flocks,  have  been  pub¬ 
licly  martyred  on  refusing  to  deny  their  faith.” 

“  In  many  places  the  Moslems  are  picking  up  the 
destitute  widows  and  orphans  and  simply  taking 
possession  of  them  in  order  to  make  them  Moham¬ 
medans  without  any  will  of  their  own.”  “  Fifty-five 
Armenian  women  and  girls,  thus  carried  off  from 
Ozoonovah,  a  village  near  Harpoot,  were  being  con¬ 
veyed  along  the  Euphrates,  when,  by  a  swift  de¬ 
cision,  they  all  jumped  into  the  river  and  drowned 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


37 


themselves  to  escape  a  life  of  Mohammedan  slavery 
and  bestiality.” 

A  letter  from  Cesarea  of  Dec.  3,  1895,  states: 
“  The  method  taken  with  the  women  was  to  de¬ 
mand  that  they  proclaim  themselves  Moslems.  If 
they  refused,  as  many  did,  even  young  girls  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  they  were  cut  down 
mercilessly.  This  is  not  intended  to  be  a  sensational 
account.  It  is  a  cruel  fact  which  can  be  substantiated 
with  the  utmost  ease.” 

Enough  of  this  Chapter  of  Horrors  !  It  has  been 
necessary  to  omit  the  most  cruel  details,  and  the 
stories  of  inhuman  lust  of  which  hundreds  of  pure 
Christian  women,  both  matron  and  maid,  have  been 
the  victims,  shall  not  be  allowed  to  soil  the  pages 
of  this  book  nor  to  defile  the  imagination  of  the 
reader.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  give  a  general  sum¬ 
mary  of  the  massacres  of  October,  November,  and 
December,  1895. 

A  GENERAL  SUMMARY. 

Careful  study  of  trustworthy  reports  from  all  the 
regions  devastated  proves  beyond  doubt  that  the 
recent  outbreaks ,  while  sadden ,  were  tinder  careful 
direction  in  regard  to  place ,  time,  nationality  of  the 
victims  and  of  the  perpetrators ,  were  prompted  by  a 
common  motive  and  their  true  character  has  been  sys¬ 
tematically  concealed  by  Turkish  official  reports . 

1.  With  some  exceptions,  the  massacres  have  been 
confined  to  the  provinces  to  be  reformed.  In  out¬ 
rages  elsewhere,  as  at  Marash,  Aintab,  Oorfa  and 
Cesarea,  the  Moslems  were  excited  by  the  nearness 


38 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


of  the  scenes  of  massacre,  and  by  the  reports  of  the 
plunder  which  others  were  securing.  The  region 
devastated  is  vast,  being  five  hundred  miles  east  and 
west,  and  three  hundred  north  and  south.  It  ex¬ 
tends  from  Asia  Minor  proper  to  the  Russian  and 
Persian  frontiers,  and  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the 
Mesopotamian  plain. 

2.  The  massacre  in  Trebizond  occurred  just  as  the 
Sultan,  after  six  months  of  refusal,  was  about  to 
consent  to  the  scheme  of  reforms  demanded  by  the 
Powers,  as  if  to  warn  them  that,  in  case  they  per¬ 
sisted,  the  mine  was  already  laid  for  the  destruction 
of  the  Armenians.  In  fact  the  massacre  of  the 
Armenians  is  Turkey’s  real  reply  to  the  demands 
of  Europe  that  she  reform.  P'rom  Trebizond  the 
wave  of  murder  and  robbery  swept  on  through 
almost  every  -city  and  town  and  village  in  the  six 
provinces  where  reforms  were  promised.  When  the 
news  of  the  first  massacre  reached  Constantinople, 
a  high  Turkish  official  remarked  to  one  of  the  am¬ 
bassadors  that  massacre  was  like  the  small-pox : 
they  must  all  have  it,  but  they  would  n’t  need  to 
have  it  the  second  time. 

3.  The  victims  were  exclusively  Armenians.  In 
Trebizond  there  is  a  large  Greek  population,  but 
neither  there  nor  elsewhere  have  the  Greeks  been 
molested.  Special  care  has  also  been  taken  to  avoid 
injury  to  the  subjects  of  foreign  nations,  with  the  idea 
of  escaping  foreign  complications  and  the  payment 
of  indemnities.  The  only  marked  exceptions  were 
in  Marash,  and  in  Harpoot,  where  eight  buildings 
belonging  to  the  American  Mission  were  plundered 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


39 


and  burned,  the  total  losses  exceeding  $100,000,  for 
which  no  indemnity  has  yet  been  paid,  though  more 
than  three  months  has  passed. 

4.  The  method  in  the  cities  has  been  to  kill  within 
a  limited  period  the  largest  number  of  Armenians 
— especially  men  of  business,  capacity  and  intelli¬ 
gence — and  to  beggar  their  families.  Hence  the  mas¬ 
sacres  were  begun  during  business  hours,  when  the 
Armenians  could  be  caught  in  their  shops,  just  after 
the  noonday  prayer  of  the  Moslems.  The  surprised 
and  unarmed  Armenians  made  little  or  no  resist¬ 
ance,  and  where,  as  at  Diarbekir  and  Gurun,  they 
undertook  to  defend  themselves,  they  suffered  the 
more.  The  killing  was  done  with  guns,  revolvers, 
swords,  clubs,  pickaxes,  and  every  conceivable 
weapon,  and  many  of  the  dead  were  horribly 
mangled.  The  shops  and  houses  were  absolutely 
gutted,  and  often  burned. 

Upon  hundreds  of  villages  the  Turks,  Kurds,  and 
Circassians  came  down  like  the  hordes  of  Tamerlane, 
robbed  the  helpless  peasants  of  their  flocks  and 
herds,  stripped  them  of  their  very  clothing,  and  car¬ 
ried  away  their  bedding,  cooking  utensils,  and  even 
the  little  stores  of  provisions  which  they  had  with 
infinite  care  and  toil  laid  up  for  the  severities  of  a 
rigorous  winter.  Worst  of  all  is  the  bitter  cry  that 
comes  from  every  quarter  that  the  Moslems  carried 
off  hundreds  of  Christian  women  and  children. 

The  number  killed  in  the  massacres  thus  far  is 
estimated  at  forty  thousand.  Not  less  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  wretched  survivors,  most 
of  whom  are  women  and  children,  are  in  danger  of 


40 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


perishing  by  starvation  and  exposure  unless  foreign 
aid  is  promptly  sent  and  allowed  to  reach  them. 

5.  The  perpetrators  were  the  resident  Moslem 
population — armed  and  instigated  by  the  authorities, 
who  had  previously  disarmed  the  Christians, — rein¬ 
forced  by  Kurds,  Circassians,  and  in  several  cases  by 
the  Sultan’s  soldiers  and  officers,  who  began  the 
dreadful  work  at  the  sound  of  a  bugle,  and  desisted 
when  the  bugle  signalled  to  them  to  stop.  This  was 
notoriously  true  in  Erzerum.  In  Harpoot,  also,  the 
soldiers  took  a  prominent  part,  firing  on  the  build¬ 
ings  of  the  American  Mission  with  Martini-Henri 
rifles  and  Krupp  cannon. 

It  is  an  utter  mistake  to  suppose,  as  some  have, 
that  the  local  authorities  could  not  have  suppressed 
the  “  fanatical  ”  Moslem  mobs  and  restrained  the 
Kurds.  The  fact  is  that  the  authorities,  after  look¬ 
ing  on  while  the  massacres  were  in  progress,  did 
generally  intervene  and  stop  the  slaughter  in  the 
cities  as  soon  as  the  limited  period  during  which  the 
Moslems  were  allowed  to  kill  and  rob  had  expired. 

6.  The  motive  of  the  Turks  is  apparent  even  to 
the  superficial  observer.  The  scheme  of  reforms 
devolved  civil  offices,  judgeships,  and  police  appoint¬ 
ments  on  Mohammedans  and  non-Mohammedans 
in  the  six  provinces  proportionately.  This,  while 
simple  justice,  was  a  bitter  pill  to  the  Mohamme¬ 
dans,  who  had  ruled  the  Christians  with  a  rod  of 
iron  for  five  hundred  years.  All  that  was  needed  to 
make  the  scheme  of  reforms  inoperative  was  to  alter 
the  proportion  of  Christians  to  Mohammedans.  This 
policy  was  at  once  relentlessly  and  thoroughly  exe- 


A  Chapter  of  Horrors. 


4i 


cuted.  The  Armenians  have  been  both  diminished 
and  utterly  prostrated,  first,  by  killing  at  a  single 
blow  those  most  capable  of  taking  a  part  in  any 
scheme  of  reconstruction,  and,  secondly,  by  com¬ 
pelling  the  survivors  to  die  of  starvation,  exposure, 
and  sickness  or  to  become  Moslem.  Thousands  in 
despair  of  help  from  God  or  man  have  already  ac¬ 
cepted  the  religion  of  the  murderers  of  their  rela¬ 
tives.  Though  only  an  outward  acceptance  now,  it 
will  soon  become  an  irrevocable  fact,  unless  the  awful 
pressure  of  the  Turks  is  broken  by  foreign  inter¬ 
vention. 

It  is  the  very  essence  of  Mohammedanism  that 
the  ghiaour  has  no  right  to  live  save  in  subjection. 
The  abortive  schemes  of  Europe  insisting  on  the 
rights  of  Armenians  as  men  and  Christians  have 
enraged  the  Moslems  against  them.  The  arrogant 
and  non-progressive  Turks  know  that  in  a  fair  and 
equal  race  the  Christians  will  outstrip  them  in  every 
department  of  business  and  industry,  and  they  see 
in  any  just  scheme  of  reforms  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall  for  themselves. 

7.  The  refinement  of  cruelty  appears  in  this,  that 
the  Turkish  Government  has  attempted  to  cover  up 
its  hideous  policy  and  deeds  by  the  most  colossal  lying 
and  hypocrisy.  By  the  constant  publication  of  men¬ 
dacious  telegrams  and  reports,  it  has  tried  to  make 
Europe  and  America  believe  that  the  agricultural  and 
commercial  Armenians,  stripped  of  all  weapons  and 
in  a  hopeless  minority,  are  in  rebellion.  It  is  true 
that  on  September  30,  1895,  some  hot-headed  young 
Armenians,  contrary  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Arme- 


42 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


nian  Patriarch  and  the  orders  of  the  police,  attempted 
to  take  a  well  worded  petition  to  the  Grand  Vizier, 
according  to  a  time-honored  custom.  It  is  also  true 
that  brave  and  oppressed  mountaineers  in  the  one 
isolated  town  of  Zeitoun  drove  out  a  small  garrison 
of  Turkish  soldiers,  whom,  however,  they  treated 
with  humanity  ;  it  is  likewise  true  that  in  various 
places  individual  Armenians,  in  despair,  have  advo¬ 
cated  acts  of  violence  and  revenge  with  the  hope  of 
calling  attention  to  their  wrongs.  But  the  universal 
testimony  of  impartial  foreign  eye-witnesses  is  that, 
with  the  above  exceptions,  the  Armenians  have 
given  no  provocation  whatever.  If  the  Armenians 
made  attacks,  where  are  the  Turkish  dead? 

And  all  this  has  been  done  by  those  who  have 
for  years  dazzled  and  deceived  Europe  with  Hatti 
Shereefs  and  Hatti  Humayouns,  promulgating  civil 
equality  and  religious  liberty  for  their  Christian  sub¬ 
jects. 

The  Sultan  who  is  the  head  of  all  authority  in 
Turkey,  wrote  to  Lord  Salisbury,  and  pledged  his 
word  of  honor  that  the  scheme  of  reforms  should  be 
carried  out  to  the  letter,  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  was  directing  the  massacres.  And  the  six  great 
Christian  Powers  of  Europe,  as  well  as  the  United 
States,  still  treat  this  man  with  infinite  courtesy  and 
deference. 

The  most  appalling  feature  of  this  vast  tragedy  is 
the  fact  that  all  the  “  civilized  ”  and  “  Christian  ”  na¬ 
tions  of  the  world  have  watched  it  for  months  with¬ 
out  moving  a  finger  to  check  it.  The  sober  truth  is 
that  civilization  is  not  progress,  and  that  the  Chris¬ 
tianity  of  to-day  is  not  Christian. 


I 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  INFORMATION  ABOUT  EASTERN 

TURKEY. 

IN  order  that  the  ordinary  reader  may  grasp  the 
situation  in  Armenia,  information  is  given  at 
this  point  in  regard  to  the  country  itself,  its  ad¬ 
ministration,  the  elements  that  compose  the  popula¬ 
tion,  and  their  relations  to  one  another. 

The  massacr-e  took  place  in  the  mountainous  Sas- 
soun  district  just  south  of  Moosh,  two  days’  ride 
west  of  Bitlis,  a  large  city  where  the  Provincial-Gov¬ 
ernor  and  a  permanent  military  force  reside.  It  is 
near  the  western  end  of  Lake  Van,  about  eight  hun¬ 
dred  miles  east  of  Constantinople,  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  south  of  Trebizond  on  the  Black  Sea,  and 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  Russian 
and  Persian  frontiers  of  Asiatic  Turkey.  These  dis¬ 
tances  do  not  seem  great  until  the  difficulties  of 
travel  are  considered.  The  roads  are,  in  most  cases, 
bridle  paths,  impassable  for  vehicles,  without  bridges, 
infested  with  highwaymen,  and  unprovided  with 
lodging-places.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  go  to 
the  expense  of  hiring  government  guards,  and  to 
burden  oneself  with  all  articles  likely  to  be  needed 
on  the  way — tents,  food  supplies,  cooking  utensils, 


43 


44 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


beds,  etc.,  which  also  imply  cooks,  baggage  horses, 
and  grooms.  Thus  equipped,  it  is  possible,  after 
obtaining  the  necessary  government  permits,  often  a 
matter  of  vexatious  delay,  to  move  about  the  coun¬ 
try.  The  ordinary  rate  is  from  twenty  to  thirty 
miles  a  day.  With  a  good  horse  and  no  baggage  I 
have  gone  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  from  Har- 
poot  to  Van,  in  eight  days,  but  that  was  quite  ex¬ 
ceptional.  In  spring,  swollen  streams  and  mud;  in 
summer,  oppressive  heat  ;  and  in  winter,  storms,  are 
serious  impediments.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Bitlis 
the  telegraph  poles  are  sometimes  buried,  and  horses 
cannot  be  taken  out  of  the  stables  on  account  of 
the  snow.  The  mails  are  often  weeks  behind,  both 
in  arriving  and  departing,  and  even  Turkish  light¬ 
ning  seems  to  be  yavash ,  and  crawl  sluggishly  along 
the  wires. 

Turkish  Armenia — by  the  way,  “Armenia”  is  a 
name  prohibited  in  Turkey — is  a  large  plateau  quad¬ 
rangular  in  shape,  and  sixty  thousand  square  miles 
in  area,  about  the  size  of  Iowa.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Russian  frontier,  a  line  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  Mount  Ararat,  by  Persia  on  the  east,  the 
Mesopotamian  plain  on  the  south,  and  Asia  Minor 
on  the  west.  It  contains  about  six  hundred  thousand 
Armenians,  which  is  only  one  fourth  the  number 
found  in  all  Turkey.  The  surface  is  rough,  consist¬ 
ing  of  valleys  and  plains  from  four  to  six  thousand 
feet  above  sea-level,  broken  and  shut  in  by  bristling 
peaks  and  mountain  ranges,  from  ten  to  seventeen 
thousand  feet  high,  as  in  the  case  of  Ararat.  Ancient 
Armenia  greatly  varied  in  extent  at  different  epochs. 


Information  about  Eastern  Turkey.  45 

reaching  to  the  Caspian  at  one  time,  and  even  bor¬ 
dering  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea  during  the  Crusades. 
It  included  the  Southern  Caucasus,  which  now  con¬ 
tains  a  large,  growing,  prosperous,  and  happy  Arme¬ 
nian  population  under  the  Czar,  whose  government 
allows  them  the  free  exercise  of  their  ancestral  re¬ 
ligion,  and  admits  them  to  many  high  civil  and  mili¬ 
tary  positions.  The  Armenians  now  number  about 
four  million,  of  whom  two  million  five  hundred 
thousand  are  in  Turkey,  one  million  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  in  Russia,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  in  Persia  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  one  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  scattered  through  Europe,  and  five 
thousand  in  the  United  States. 

The  scenery,  while  harsh,  owing  to  the  lack  of  ver¬ 
dure,  is  on  a  grand  scale.  Around  the  shores  of  the 
great  Van  Lake  are  many  views  of  entrancing  beauty. 
The  climate  is  temperate  and  the  atmosphere  bril¬ 
liant  and  stimulating.  It  is  a  dry,  treeless  region, 
but  fertile  under  irrigation,  and  abounding  in  mineral 
wealth,  including  coal.  Owing  to  primitive  methods 
of  agriculture,  and  to  danger  while  reaping  and  even 
planting  crops,  only  a  small  part  is  under  cultivation, 
and  frequent  famines  are  the  result.  The  mineral 
resources  are  entirely  untouched,  because  the  Turks 
lack  both  capital  and  brains  to  develop  them,  and 
prevent  foreigners  from  doing  it  lest  this  might 
open  the  door  for  further  European  inspection  and 
interference  with  their  methods  of  administering  the 
country. 

All  local  authority  is  practically  in  the  hands  of 
the  Valis,  provincial  governors,  who  are  sent  from 


46 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Constantinople  to  represent  the  sovereign,  and  are 
accountable  to  him  alone.  The  blind  policy  which 
was  inaugurated  by  the  present  Sultan  of  dismissing 
non-Moslems  from  every  branch  of  public  service — 
post,  telegraph,  custom-house,  internal  revenue,  en¬ 
gineering,  and  the  like — has  already  been  carried  out 
to  a  large  extent  all  over  the  empire,  and  especially 
in  Armenia.  The  frequent  changes  in  Turkish  offi¬ 
cials  keeps  their  business  in  a  state  of  “  confusion 
worse  confounded,”  and  incites  them  to  improve 
their  chance  to  plunder  while  it  lasts.  Traces  of  the 
relatively  large  revenue,  wrung  from  the  people,  and 
spent  in  improvements  of  service  to  them,  are  very 
hard  to  find. 


THE  INHABITANTS. 

Probably  about  one  half  of  the  population  of 
Turkish  Armenia  is  Mohammedan,  composed  of 
Turks  and  Kurds.  The  former  are  mostly  found  in 
and  near  the  large  cities,  such  as  Erzingan,  Baibourt, 
Erzerum,  and  Van,  and  the  plains  along  the  northern 
part.  The  Kurds  live  in  their  mountain  villages 
over  the  whole  region.  The  term  Kurdistan,  which 
in  this  region  the  Turkish  Government  is  trying  to 
substitute  for  the  historical  one  Armenia,  has  no 
political  or  geographical  propriety  except  as  indicat¬ 
ing  the  much  larger  area  over  which  the  Kurds  are 
scattered.  In  this  vague  sense  it  applies  to  a  stretch 
of  mountainous  country  about  fifteen  hundred  miles 
in  length,  starting  between  Erzingan  and  Malatiah, 
and  sweeping  east  and  south  over  into  Persia  as  far 
as  Kerman  shah. 


A  KURD  OF  THE  OLD  TYPE. 


47 


48 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


The  number  of  the  Kurds  is  very  uncertain.  Neither 
Sultan  nor  Shah  has  ever  attempted  a  census  of  them  ; 
and  as  they  are  very  indifferent  taxpayers,  the  revenue 
tables — wilfully  distorted  for  political  purposes — are 
quite  unreliable.  From  the  estimates  of  British  con¬ 
sular  officers  there  appear  to  be  about  one  and  a  half 
million  Turkish  Kurds,  of  whom  about  600,000  are  in 
the  vilayets  of  Erzroom,  Van,  and  Bitlis,  and  the  rest 
in  the  vilayets  of  Harpoot,  Diarbekir,  Mosul,  and 
Bagdad.  This  is  a  very  liberal  estimate.  There  are 
also  supposed  to  be  about  750,000  in  Persia.1 

The  Kurds,  whose  natural  instincts  lead  them  to  a 
pastoral  and  predatory  life,  are  sedentary  or  nomad 
according  to  local  and  climatic  circumstances.  Where 
exposed  to  a  severe  mountain  winter  they  live  ex¬ 
clusively  in  villages,  and  in  the  case  of  Bitlis  have 
even  formed  a  large  part  of  the  city  population.  But 
the  tribes  in  the  south,  who  have  access  to  the  Meso¬ 
potamian  plains,  prefer  a  migratory  life,  oscillating 
with  the  season  between  the  lowlands  and  the  moun¬ 
tains.  The  sedentary  greatly  outnumber  the  nomad 
Kurds,  but  the  latter  are  more  wealthy,  independent, 
and  highly  esteemed.  There  is,  probably,  little  eth¬ 
nic  distinction  between  the  two  classes. 

A  fourteenth-century  list  of  Kurdish  tribes  contains 
many  names  identical  with  those  of  powerful  families 
who  claim  a  remote  ancestry.  “  There  was,  up  to  a 
recent  period,  no  more  picturesque  or  interesting 
scene  to  be  witnessed  in  the  East  than  the  court  of 
one  of  these  great  Kurdish  chiefs,  where,  like  another 
Saladin,  [who  was  a  Kurd  himself,]  the  bey  ruled  in 

1  Encyc.  TSritannica ,  “  Kurdistan.” 


Information  about  Eastern  Turkey.  49 

patriarchal  state,  surrounded  by  hereditary  nobility, 
regarded  by  his  clansmen  with  reverence  and  affec¬ 
tion,  and  attended  by  a  body-guard  of  young  Kurdish 
warriors,  clad  in  chain  armor,  with  flaunting  silken 
scarfs,  and  bearing  javelin,  lance,  and  sword  as  in  the 
time  of  the  crusaders.” 1  Within  two  days’  ride 
southeast  of  Van,  I  found  the  ruins  of  four  massive 
Kurdish  castles  at  Shaddakh,  Norduz,Bashkallah,  and 
Khoshab,  which  must  have  rivalled  those  of  the  feudal 
barons  on  the  Rhine.  The  Armenian  and  Nestorian 
villagers  were  much  better  off  as  serfs  of  the  power¬ 
ful  masters  of  these  strongholds  than  as  the  victims 
of  Kurdish  plunder  and  of  Ottoman  taxation  and 
oppression  which  they  now  are. 

The  Kurds  are  naturally  brave  and  hospitable,  and, 
in  common  with  many  other  Asiatic  races,  possess 
certain  rude  but  strict  feelings  of  honor.  But  since 
their  power  has  been  broken  by  the  Turks,  their 
castles  ruined,  and  their  chiefs  exiled,  these  finer 
qualities  and  more  chivalrous  sentiments  have  also 
largely  disappeared  under  the  principle  of  noblesse 
oblige  reversed.  In  most  regions  they  have  degener¬ 
ated  into  a  wild,  lawless  set  of  brigands,  proud, 
treacherous,  and  cruel.  The  traditions  of  their  for¬ 
mer  position  and  power  serve  only  to  feed  their 
hatred  of  the  Turks  who  caused  their  fall,  and  their 
jealousy  and  contempt  of  the  Christians  who  have 
been  for  generations  their  serfs,  whose  progress  and 
increase  they  cannot  tolerate. 

One  who  has  a  taste  for  adventure  and  is  willing 
to  take  his  life  in  his  hands,  can  find  among  them  as 

1  Encyc.  Britannica ,  “  Kurdistan.” 


5° 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


fine  specimens  of  the  human  animal  as  are  to  be 
found  anywhere — sinewy,  agile,  and  alert,  with  a 
steady  penetrating  eye  as  cool,  cold,  and  cruel  as  that 


RUINS  OF  A  KURDISH  CASTLE  AT  KHOSHAB. 

of  .2  tiger.  I  vividly  recollect  having  just  this  impres¬ 
sion  under  circumstances  analogous  to  that  of  a 
hunter  who  suddenly  finds  himself  face  to  face  with 


Information  about  Eastern  Turkey.  51 

a  lord  of  the  jungle.  There  was  no  sense  of  fear,  at 
the  time,  but  rather  a  keen  delight  and  fascination  in 
watching  the  magnificent  creature  before  me.  His 
thin  aquiline  face,  his  neck  and  hands  were  stained  by 
the  weather  to  a  brown  as  delicate  as  that  of  a 
meerschaum  pipe,  and  on  his  broad  exposed  breast 
the  thick  growth  of  hair  obliterated  any  impression 
of  nudeness.  For  a  few  moments  he  seemed  engaged 
in  some  sinister  calculation,  but  at  last  quietly  moved 
away.  Perhaps  he  wanted  only  a  cigarette.  Perhaps 
he  wondered  if  I,  too,  had  claws.  The  Winchester 
rifle  behind  his  back  did  not  escape  my  notice,  nor 
did  the  gun  across  my  saddle  escape  his.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  remind  those  who  may  desire  such  ex¬ 
periences  as  the  above,  that  the  usual  retinue  of  cooks, 
servants,  and  zabtiehs  should  be  dispensed  with  in 
order  to  secure  the  best  opportunities  for  observation. 

The  Kurdish  costumes,  always  picturesque,  show 
much  local  variation  in  cut  and  color.  The  beys 
and  khans  of  the  colder  north  almost  invariably  pre¬ 
fer  broadcloth,  and  find  the  finest  fabrics  and  richest 
shades — specially  imported  for  them — none  too  good. 
But  the  loose  flowing  garments  of  the  Sheikhs  and 
wealthy  Kocher  nomads  of  the  south  are  often  very 
inexpensive,  and  suggest  Arab  simplicity  and  dig¬ 
nity.  There  is,  no  doubt,  considerable  Arab  blood 
in  some  of  these  families,  who  refer  to  the  fact  with 
pride. 

The  women  of  the  Kurds,  contrary  to  usual  Mo¬ 
hammedan  custom,  go  unveiled  and  have  large  lib¬ 
erty,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suspect  their  virtue. 
Their  prowess,  also,  is  above  reproach,  and  rash  would 


52 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

be  the  man,  Turk  or  Christian,  who  would  venture 
to  invade  the  mountain  home  when  left  in  charge  of 
its  female  defenders.  On  the  whole,  the  Kurds  are 
a  race  of  fine  possibilities,  far  superior  to  the  North 
American  Indian,  to  whom  they  are  often  ignorantly 
compared.  Under  a  just,  intelligent,  and  firm  gov¬ 
ernment  much  might  be  expected  of  them  in  time. 

They  keep  up  a  strict  tribal  relation,  owing  alle¬ 
giance  to  their  Sheikhs,  some  of  whom  are  still  strong 
and  rich,  and  engage  in  bitter  feuds  with  one 
another.  They  could  not  stand  a  moment  against 
the  Ottoman  power  if  determined  to  crush  and  dis¬ 
arm  them.  But  three  years  ago  His  Majesty  sum¬ 
moned  the  chiefs  to  the  capital,  presented  them  with 
decorations,  banners,  uniforms,  and  military  titles, 
and  sent  them  back  to  organize  their  tribes  into 
cavalry  regiments,  on  whom  he  was  pleased  to  be¬ 
stow  the  name  Hamedieh ,  after  his  own.  Thus, 
shrewdly  appealing  to  their  pride  of  race,  and  wink¬ 
ing  at  their  subsequent  acts,  the  Sultan  obtained  a 
power  eager  in  time  of  peace  to  crush  Armenian 
growth  and  spirit,  and  a  bulwark  that  might  check, 
in  his  opinion,  the  first  waves  of  the  next  dreaded 
Russian  invasion.  In  the  last  war  the  Kurdish  con¬ 
tingent  was  worse  than  useless  as  was  shown  by  Mr. 
Norman,1  of  the  London  Times . 

The  Armenians,  a  very  important  element  of  the 
population,  are  generally  known  as  being  bright, 
practical,  industrious,  and  moral.  They  are  of  a 
very  peaceable  disposition,  and  entirely  unskilled 
in  the  use  of  arms,  the  mere  possession  of  which 

1  Armenia  and  the  Campaign  of  i8pj. 


Information  about  Eastern  Turkey.  53 

is  a  serious  crime  in  the  case  of  Christians,  al¬ 
though  the  Kurds  are  well  equipped  with  modern 
rifles  and  revolvers,  and  always  carry  them.  Their 
great  and  fundamental  weakness,  seen  through  all 
their  history,  is  a  lack  of  coherence,  arising  from 
their  exaggerated  individualism.  They  have  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  race  who  accepted 
Christianity,  King  Dertad  receiving  baptism  in  276 
A.  D.,  thirty-seven  years  before  Constantine  ventured 
to  issue  even  the  Edict  of  Toleration.  Their  martyr 
roll  has  grown  with  every  century.  The  fact  that 
the  Armenian  stock  exists  at  all  to-day,  is  proof  of 
its  wonderful  vitality  and  excellent  quality.  For 
three  thousand  years  Armenia,  on  account  of  her 
location,  has  been  trampled  into  dust  both  by  devas¬ 
tating  armies  and  by  migrating  hordes.  She  has 
been  the  prey  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Xerxes,  and  Alex¬ 
ander  ;  of  the  Romans,  the  Parthians,  and  Persians ; 
of  Byzantine,  Saracen,  and  Crusader;  of  Seljujc  and 
Ottoman,  and  Russian  and  Kurd.  Through  this 
awful  record,  the  Christian  church  founded  by 
Gregory,  “  The  Illuminator,”  has  been  the  one  rally¬ 
ing  point  and  source  of  strength,  and  this  explains 
the  tremendous  power  of  the  Cross  on  the  hearts  of 
all,  even  of  the  most  ignorant  peasant. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  CHRONIC  CONDITION  OF  ARMENIA 
AND  KURDISTAN. 

MANY  statements  in  regard  to  the  state  of 
affairs  in  Eastern  Turkey  are  criticised  as 
being  too  sweeping  and  general,  and  the  in¬ 
ference  is  drawn  that  they  are  exaggerations,  not 
based  on  exact  knowledge  of  the  facts.  This  chap¬ 
ter  will,  therefore,  contain  nothing  but  definite  inci¬ 
dents  and  figures,  names  and  places  also  being  added 
regardless  of  consequences.  This  information  is  fur¬ 
nished  by  a  trustworthy  authority  on  the  ground,  and  - 
has  already  been  published  in  The  Independent,  of 
New  York,  January  17,  1895,  from  which  I  quote 
verbatim.  It  shows  the  usual  course  of  things  in 
times  of  so-called  peace  between  Kurds  and  their 
Christian  slaves,  and  indicates  to  what  sort  of  a  life 
these  Armenian,  Jacobite,  and  Nestorian  Christians 
are  condemned  when  no  massacre  is  in  hand.  From 
my  own  residence  and  travels  in  Armenia,  I  know 
that  the  incidents  related  would  apply  to  hundreds 
of  villages  with  simply  a  change  of  name. 

“A  Partial  List  of  Exactions  made  upon  the  Village 
of  Mansur ieh  of  Bohtan  (Kaimakamlik  of  Jezireh) 
by  the  government,  and  by  Mustapha  Pasha,  a  Kurd¬ 
ish  Kocher,  or  nomad  chief,  in  1893  : 


5  A 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan.  55 


SUMMARY. 

"Excess  of  official  de¬ 
mand  .  3,000  ps.1 

1.  Government  Exaction-,  Amount  of  double  tax  4,000 


Produce  taken  by  gen¬ 
darmes .  2,000  9,000  ps. 

2.  Exaction  by  M.  Pasha.  Excess  of  tithe  revenue  1,500 

Damage  to  crops .  2,000  3,500 

Total  excess  taken  from  village  for  1893 .  12,500 


Total  of  legitimate  taxes  on  village  for  the  year.  . .  14,000 


The  village  complained  to  the  government  of 
Mustapha  Pasha’s  exactions,  but  no  redress  was  given 
by  the  government,  nor  anything  done  to  Mustapha 
Pasha,  who,  when  he  learned  of  their  having  made 
complaint,  sent  droves  of  sheep  to  devour  the  crops 
that  remained,  viz.,  five  pieces  of  ground  sown  and 
bearing  cotton,  millet,  flaxseed,  etc.,  valued  at  2000 
piasters.” 

“ Partial  List  of  Exaction  by  AgJias  of  Shernakh  (one 
day  north  of  jezireh),  from  Hassana  of  Bohtan,  dur- 
ing  years  1 89 1— ’93.  Hassana  has  sixty  houses  : 

1893. 

Use  of  30  men  to  carry  flour  for  Mohammed 


Agha,  2  days .  150  ps. 

For  Mohammed  Agha,  cash  10  liras .  1,000 

“  “  1 5  pieces  of  cloth .  150 

“  Taher  Agha,  cash  14  liras  .  1,400 

“  “  taken  from  village  priest,  cash 

75  ps. ,  saddle  75  ps.,  watch 

200  ps .  350 

“  Sahdoon  Agha,  cash  2  liras .  200 

“  Mohammed .  120 


Carried  forward .  3,370  ps. 


1  A  piastre  is  a  Turkish  coin  of  about  five  cents,  or  two  pence- 
half  penny.  In  this  region  the  pay  of  a  day  laborer  is  from  two  to 
five  piastres. 


56 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Brought  forward .  3,370  ps. 

For  Khorsheed .  57 

“  Mohammed  Agha,  harvest,  500  men  at  3  ps. .  1,500 

“  “  “  repair  of  his  roads,  65  men, 

3  days.. .  487 

44  44  “  repair  of  his  roads,  50  men, 

3  days . .  375 

44  44  “  preparation  of  boiled  wheat 

for  winter,  450  men  and 

14  animals .  1,160 

4  “  “  building  house  in  Dader, 

150  men . . .  375 

44  4  4  “  2000  ceiling  sticks,  10 

posts .  554 

“  “  “  4  large  trees  for  rafters,  at 

50  ps .  200 


Total  for  1893  8,078  ps. 


The  above  were  noted  in  a  book  at  the  time  of  the 
occurrence  by  a  village  priest,  as  being  seen  by  him 
personally,  and  do  not  give  the  great  part  of  the  ex¬ 
actions  of  the  Shernakh  Kurds,  which  he  did  not  see. 

One  item  additional  to  above :  all  the  cotton  of 
Mohammed  Agha  of  Shernakh  is,  by  the  villagers, 
beaten,  spun,  twisted,  woven,  and  returned  as  cloth 
(involving  many  days’  labor  and  two  days’  journey), 
and  any  weight  lost  in  the  making  up  the  amount 
must  be  made  good. 

This  oppression  is  increasing  from  year  to  year. 
.The  above  priest  noted  for  years  i88o-’82,  taken  by 
Aghas — cash,  4141  ps.  ;  90  animals  used,  450  ps. ; 
314  men  used,  785  ps.  Total  for  three  years,  5376, 
as  over  against  10,973  ps.  for  three  years,  i89i-’93.” 

“  Testimony  given  in  writing,  by  a  Christian  of  the 
District  of  Berwer,  in  reference  to  the  oppression  of 
Christians  in  that  district  by  the  Kurds,  of  which  he 
himself  was  an  eye-witness,  the  examples  given  being 
confined  to  three  small  villages  and  of  recent  occur- 


Condition  of  A  rmenia  and  Kurdistan.  5  7 

rence.  He  gives  the  names  of  places  and  of  the 
parties  concerned,  both  Kurds  and  Christians.  We 
summarize  them. 

Murders. — Eight  men  mentioned  by  name,  others 
generalized. 

Robbery. — Cash,  9  liras;  again  10  liras;  again  15 
liras  ;  smaller  sums  being  taken  continually. 

Mohammed  Beg,  of  Berwer,  and  his  relatives  re¬ 
sponsible  in  greater  part  for  the  above ;  also  for 
robbing  of  two  houses  in  Ina  D’Noony. 

For  generations  these  Christians  have  sown  the 
fields  of  these  Kurds,  harvested  them,  done  their 
threshing,  irrigated  their  fields,  cut  and  brought  in 
the  grass  as  fodder  for  the  sheep  for  use  during  the 
winter,  together  with  much  other  labor,  and  all  with¬ 
out  recompense,  they  finding  themselves. 

(These  things  are  accompanied,  of  course,  with 
cursings  and  beatings.)  ” 

“  A  number  of  Christian  villages  lying  farther  back 
in  the  mountains  are  even  more  severely  oppressed. 
The  people  are  literally  bought  and  sold  as  slaves. 
In  other  districts  the  buying  and  selling  of  Christians 
by  Kurds  is  common.” 

“Village  of  Shakh  (five  hours  from  Jezireh)  ;  like 
Mansurieh  deserted  for  months  by  reason  of  extor¬ 
tion  by  tax  collectors.  Many  of  the  people  lived 
during  the  winter  in  caves  in  the  mountains.” 

“The  writer  was  in  Nahrwan  when  the  Kaimakam 
of  Jezireh  came,  several  weeks  after  a  murder,  to 
examine  into  it.  The  examination  was  rendered 
so  oppressive  to  the  Christians  that  the  people  were 
glad  to  declare  that  nothing  had  happened,  in  order  to 


58 


The  Crisis  in  Tier  key. 


escape  any  further  inquisition.  Even  the  old  mother 
of  the  murdered  man  was  frightened  until  she  de¬ 
clared  that  she  did  not  know  of  any  such  occurrence, 
and  had  no  complaints  to  make  against  anybody.” 

“  Kannybalaver — Kaimakamlik  of  Amadia.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  years  i893-’94  this  village  was  raided  sev¬ 
eral  times  by  the  Gugier  and  Sendier  Kurds  of  the 
Kaimakamlik  of  Jezireh.  They  took  one  hundred 
head  of  animals,  field  tools,  household  utensils,  beds, 
wool  and  yarn,  gall-nuts — all  of  their  fall  gathering, — 
and  dry  goods  which  had  been  brought  in  to  sell. 
At  their  last  visit  everything  movable  was  carried 
off,  and  the  people  deserted  the  village.  A  leading 
man  of  the  village,  Gegoo  by  name,  was  seized  by 
the  Kurds,  carried  for  several  miles,  and  was  then 
murdered  in  cold  blood.  There  were  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  Kurds  in  the  band  led  by  Ahrno,  brother  of 
Hassu  of  Ukrul  and  Kerruvanu.  The  chief  men  of 
their  village  are  Sherriffu  and  Hassu,  who  would  be 
responsible  for  such  a  raid.” 

“  In  the  city  of  Mosul,  where  there  is  a  Vali,  Chris¬ 
tians  are  robbed  and  killed  openly.  Three  cases  are 
given.  Last  year  a  young  man,  of  the  Protestant  com, 
munity,  of  high  standing  in  the  city  as  a  merchant, 
was  standing  before  his  door  when  two  young  Kurds 
of  notorious  character  came  along,  and  one  of  them, 
without  the  slightest  provocation,  at  the  time  or 
previously,  from  mere  wantonness,  stabbed  him,  and 
would  have  killed  him  had  he  not  been  restrained. 
The  family  of  the  man,  though  one  of  the  most  in¬ 
fluential  families  among  the  Christians  of  the  city, 
did  not  dare  to  make  accusation  against  him,  know¬ 
ing  that  the  only  result  would  be  more  bloodshed.” 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan.  59 

“An  old  missionary  who  has  been  familiar  with  the 
region  from  Bohtan  to  Amadia  for  years,  says  these 
oppressions  are  increasing,  and  unless  something  is 
done  speedily,  all  the  Christian  villages  of  these 
various  districts  will  soon  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Kurds  just  as  they  have  in  Zabur.” 

“These  instances  of  oppression  given  are  but  a  few 
of  the  many  which  might  be  given.  Indeed  it  is 
not  these  greater  occurrences,  as  the  big  raids  and 
murders,  which  are  the  most  serious  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian.  It  is  the  daily  constant  exactions  and  oppres¬ 
sions  which  are  crushing  the  life  out  of  them.” 

A  whole  chapter  might  well  be  devoted  to  the 
oppression  by  government  officials  in  assessing  and 
collecting  taxes.  This  evil  is  general,  affecting  all 
Turkey.  A  brief  summary  of  these  abuses  as  gener¬ 
ally  practised  will  be  given.  In  view  of  the  poverty- 
stricken  condition  of  the  land,  even  the  legitimate 
taxes  are  an  exceedingly  heavy  burden  on  Moslem 
and  Christian  alike,  but  the  burden  is  greatly  in¬ 
creased  by  the  methods  here  classified  : 


SUMMARY  OF  ABUSES.  ' 

“I.  Unjust  and  corrupt  assessments. 

1.  Villagers  are  compelled  to  give  assessors  pres¬ 
ents  of  money  to  prevent  them  from  over  estimating 
the  taxable  persons  and  property. 

2.  Assessors,  to  secure  additional  bribes,  signify 
their  willingness  to  make  an  underestimate.  This, 
in  turn,  affords  opportunity  for  blackmail,  which  is 
used  by  succeeding  officials.” 


6o 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


“II.  Injustice  and  severity  in  collecting. 

1.  The  collectors,  like  the  assessors,  have  ways  of 
extorting  presents  and  bribes  from  the  people. 

2.  The  collectors,  as  a  rule,  go  to  the  villages  on 
Sunday,  as  on  that  day  they  find  the  people  in  the 
village.  They  frequently  interrupt  the  Christian 
services,  and  show  disrespect  to  their  churches  or 
places  of  prayer. 

3.  The  collection  of  the  taxes  is  accompanied  with 
unnecessary  abuse  and  reviling,  sometimes  even  with 
wanton  destruction  of  property. 

4.  Disregard  of  impoverished  condition  of  people. 
Even  after  several  failures  of  crops  in  succession, 
when  famine  was  so  severe  that  the  people  were 
many  of  them  being  fed  by  foreign  charity,  the 
taxes  were  collected  in  full  and  with  severity. 

Their  food  supply,  beds,  household  utensils,  and 
farming  implements  were  seized  by  the  collectors  in 
lieu  of  taxes.  Many  were  compelled  to  borrow 
money  at  enormous  rates  of  interest,  mortgaging 
their  fields  and  future  crops.  Unscrupulous  officials 
and  other  Kurds,  in  whose  interests  such  opportu. 
nities  are  created,  thus  became  possessed  of  Christian 
villages,  the  people  of  which  henceforth  becoming 
practically  slaves  to  them. 

5.  These  collectors  make  false  returns  of  taxes 
received.  The  official  in  the  city  is  secured  by  a 
bribe,  and  the  matter  is  kept  quiet  until  a  succeed¬ 
ing  set  of  officials  come  into  office.  They  send  their 
officers  to  the  villages  to  present  claims  for  back 
taxes.  The  villagers  in  vain  contend  that  they  have 
paid  them.  They  have  no  receipts.  They  do  not 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan.  61 

dare  to  ask  for  them.  Or  the  head  man  of  the  vil¬ 
lage  who  keeps  the  account  has  been  bribed  to  falsify 
his  accounts.  These  taxes  are  collected  again,  en¬ 
tailing  much  suffering  upon  the  people. 

6.  The  books  in  the  government  offices  at  the 
Kaimakamlik  are  often  incorrect  through  mistakes 
or  dishonesty,  and  in  consequence  taxes  are  paid  on 
fictitious  names  or  on  persons  who  have  been  dead 
for  years.” 

“  III.  Farm  ing  o f  taxes. 

Taxes  are  often  farmed  out  to  the  highest  bidder, 
who  usually  is  some  powerful  Kurdish  chief.  Either 
in  consequence  of  his  power,  or  by  means  of  bribes, 
he  is  secure  from  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
government.  He  collects  the  amount  due  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  then  takes  for  himself  as  much  as  he 
chooses,  his  own  will  or  an  exhausted  threshing-floor 
being  the  only  limit  to  his  rapacity. 

While  he  is  collector  for  these  villages  they  are 
considered  as  belonging  to  him.  During  the  year 
his  followers  pay  frequent  visits  to  the  villages. 
They  are  ignorant  and  brutal,  and  on  such  visits,  as 
also  when  collecting  taxes,  they  treat  the  villagers 
with  the  utmost  severity.” 

“  IV.  All  the  above  assessors  and  collectors — and 
they  are  many,  a  different  one  for  each  kind  of  tax, 
personal,  house  and  land,  sheep,  tobacco,  etc. — on 
their  visits  to  the  villages,  take  with  them  a  retinue 
of  servants  and  soldiers,  who,  with  their  horses,  must 
be  kept  at  the  expense  of  the  village ,  thus  entailing 
a  very  heavy  additional  burden  upon  them.  Sol¬ 
diers  and  servants  sent  to  the  villagers  to  make 


62  The  Crisis  in  Tier  key. 

collections,  very  naturally  take  something  for  them¬ 
selves.” 

All  the  preceding  testimony  refers  to  regions  where 
Jacobite  and  Nestorian  Christians  predominate  and 
thus  prove  that  Armenians  are  by  no  means  the  only 
sufferers. 

The  same  state  of  affairs  was  found  by  Mrs. 
Bishop,  who  made  investigations  on  the  ground  five 
years  ago. 

“  On  the  whole,  the  same  condition  of  alarm  pre¬ 
vails  among  the  Armenians  as  I  witnessed  previ¬ 
ously  among  the  Syrian  1  rayahs.  It  is  more  than 
alarm,  it  is  abject  terror,  and  not  without  good 
reason.  In  plain  English,  general  lawlessness  pre¬ 
vails  over  much  of  this  region.  Caravans  are  stopped 
and  robbed,  travelling  is,  for  Armenians,  absolutely 
unsafe,  sheep  and  cattle  are  being  driven  off,  and 
outrages,  which  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  narrate, 
are  being  perpetrated.  Nearly  all  the  villages  have 
been  reduced  to  extreme  poverty,  while  at  the  same 
time  they  are  squeezed  for  the  taxes  which  the 
Kurds  have  left  them  without  the  means  of  paying. 

The  repressive  measures  which  have  everywhere 
followed  ‘the  Erzerum  troubles^’  of  last  June  [1890] 
— the  seizure  of  arms,  the  unchecked  ravages  of  the 
Kurds,  the  threats  of  the  Kurdish  Beys,  who  are 
boldly  claiming  the  sanction  of  the  government  for 
their  outrages,  the  insecurity  of  the  women,  and  a 
dread  of  yet  worse  to  come  — have  reduced  these 
peasants  to  a  pitiable  state.”2 

1  Often  called  Nestorian. 

2  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop,  Jotirneys  in  Persia  and  Kurdistan , 
vol.  ii.,  p.  374,  375- 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan.  63 

Through  the  influence  of  the  British  Ambassador 
at  Constantinople  Mrs.  Bishop  was  allowed  to  state 
the  situation  to  the  Grand  Vizier  in  person,  and  on 
arriving  in  England  she  presented  a  detailed  state¬ 
ment  of  facts  to  the  Foreign  Office  and  also  to  a 
Parliamentary  Committee. 

That  the  recent  outrages  in  Sassoun  are  conspicu¬ 
ous  by  their  extent  rather  than  character,  the  follow¬ 
ing  incident,  which  came  within  the  author’s  own 
knowledge,  on  the  ground  at  the  time,  will  show. 
In  June,  1893,  four  young  Armenians  and  their 
wives,  living  only  two  miles  from  the  city  of  Van, 
where  the  Governor  and  a  large  military  force  reside, 
were  picking  herbs  on  the  hillside.  They  carefully 
kept  together  and  intended  to  return  before  night. 
They  were  observed  by  a  band  of  passing  Kurds, 
who,  in  broad  daylight,  fell  upon  the  defenceless 
party,  butchered  the  young  men,  and,  as  to  the 
brides,  it  is  needless  to  relate  further.  The  villagers 
going  out  the  next  day  found  the  four  bodies,  not 
simply  dead,  but  slashed  and  disfigured  almost  be¬ 
yond  recognition.  They  resolved  to  make  a  des¬ 
perate  effort  to  let  their  wrongs  at  least  be  known. 

Hastily  yoking  up  four  rude  ox  carts,  they  placed 
on  each  the  naked  remains  of  one  of  the  victims, 
witl  his  distracted  widow  sitting  by  the  side,  shorn 
of  her  hair  in  token  of  dishonor.  This  gruesome 
procession  soon  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
where  it  was  met  by  soldiers  sent  to  turn  it  back. 
The  unarmed  villagers  offer  no  resistance,  but  declare 
their  readiness  to  perish  if  not  heard.  The  soldiers 
•shrink  from  extreme  measures  that  might  cause 


64 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


trouble  among  the  thirty  thousand  Armenians  of 
Van,  who  are  now  rapidly  gathering  about  the  scene. 
The  Turkish  bayonets  retreat  before  the  bared 
breasts  of  the  villagers.  With  ever  increasing 
numbers,  but  without  tumult,  the  procession  passed 
before  the  doors  of  the  British  and  Russian  Vice- 
Consulates,  of  the  Persian  Consul-General,  the  Chief 
of  Police  and  other  high  officials,  till  it  paused  be¬ 
fore  the  great  palace  of  the  Governor. 

At  this  point  Bahri  Pasha,  who  is  still  Governor, 
stuck  his  head  out  of  the  second-story  window  and 
said  :  “  I  see  it.  Too  bad  !  Take  them  away  and 
bury  them.  I  will  do  what  is  necessary.”  Within 
two  days  some  Kurds  were  brought  in,  among  whom 
were  several  who  were  positively  identified  by  the 
women  ;  but,  upon  their  denying  the  crime,  they 
were  immediately  released  and  escaped.  The  utter 
hopelessness  of  securing  any  justice  was  so  apparent, 
and  experience  had  so  often  demonstrated  the  dan¬ 
ger  of  arousing  the  Kurds  to  greater  atrocity  by 
further  efforts  to  punish  them,  that  the  case  was 
dropped  and  soon  forgotten  in  the  callousness  pro¬ 
duced  by  other  cases  of  frequent  occurrence.  The 
system  of  mail  inspection  is  so  effective  (all  letters 
of  subjects  must  be  handed  in  open  at  the  post-office) 
and  the  danger  of  reporting  is  so  great  that  I  doubt 
that  any  account  of  this  incident  has  ever  been 
given  to  the  civilized  world.  This  case  was  doubtless 
reported  by  the  former  British  Vice-Consul,  unless 
he  was  busy  hunting,  and,  as  usual,  was  buried  in  the 
archives  of  the  Foreign  Office  for  “  state  reasons.” 

A  foreign  physician,  never  a  missionary,  and  now 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan,  65 

out  of  the  country,  told  me  that  during  a  large  prac¬ 
tice  of  a  year  and  a  half  in  Armenia,  while  using 
every  effort  to  save  life,  only  one  case  was  remem¬ 
bered  of  regret  by  the  doctor  for  a  fatal  ending, — so 
sad  is  the  lot  of  those  who  survive.  This  instance 
will  explain  the  strange  statement.  A  call  came  to 
see  a  young  man  sent  home  from  prison  in  a  dying 
condition.  He  could  not  speak,  and  had  to  be  nour¬ 
ished  for  days  by  artificial  feeding,  because  his  stom¬ 
ach  could  not  retain  food.  Constant  and  skilful  care 
for  a  month  brought  him  back  to  life,  from  the  con¬ 
dition  to  which  his  vile,  dark,  unventilated  cell  and 
scanty  food  had  brought  him.  As  soon  as  the  police 
learned  of  his  unexpected  recovery,  he  was  seized  and 
re-imprisoned,  though  an  only  son,  with  a  widowed 
mother  and  sister  dependent  upon  him.  When 
last  heard  of,  he  was  still  “  awaiting  trial.”  Such 
confinement  is  a  favorite  method  of  intimidation 
and  blackmail  in  the  case  of  the  innocent,  and,  in 
the  case  of  the  guilty,  amounts  to  punishment  with¬ 
out  the  cost  and  labor  involved  in  proving  the  guilt 
and  securing  sentence  by  legal  process. 

From  my  own  house  in  Van  goods  of  considerable 
value  were  stolen  in  November,  1893.  Though  I 
had  good  clews  to  the  guilty  parties  and  would  have 
been  glad  to  recover  my  property,  I  felt  constrained 
to  use  every  precaution  not  to  let  the  affair  come  to 
the  ears  of  the  police,  lest  they  should  use  it  as  a 
pretext  for  searching  the  houses  of  many  innocent 
Armenians,  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  letter,  book,  or 
weapon  of  some  kind,  which  might  serve  as  an  ex¬ 
cuse  for  imprisonment.  This  course  exposed  me  to 
5 


66  -  The  Crisis  iji  Turkey . 

further  attacks  of  thieves  and  necessitated  a  night 
watchman. 

WHY  ARE  THESE  FACTS  NOT  KNOWN  ? 

The  ignorance  and  incredulity  of  the  public  is  a 
most  significant  commentary  on  the  situation.  But 
the  explanation  is  simple.  In  the  nature  of  the  case, 
in  reports  of  outrages  where  the  victims  or  their 
friends  are  still  within  the  clutches  of  the  Turks,  all 
names  of  individuals  and  often  the  exact  locality 
must  be  concealed.  Such  anonymous  accounts 
naturally  arouse  little  interest,  and,  of  course,  cannot 
be  verified.  The  former  British  Consul-General  at 
Erzerum,  Mr.  Clifford  Lloyd,  showed  me  at  that 
place  many  such  reports  sent  to  him  by  members  of 
Parliament  for  verification.  He  was  unable  to  verify 
them,  but  said  that  the  reports  gave  a  correct  im¬ 
pression  of  the  condition  of  the  country.  At  that 
very  time,  October,  1890,  Mr.  Lloyd  called  atten¬ 
tion,  in  an  official  dispatch,  published  in  the  “  Blue 
Books,”  to  : 

“  1.  The  insecurity  of  the  lives  and  properties  of  the 
Armenians.  2.  The  insecurity  of  their  persons,  and 
the  absence  of  all  liberty  of  thought  and  action.  3. 
The  unequal  status  held  by  the  Christian  as  compared 
with  the  Mussulman  in  the  eyes  of  the  government.” 

On  this  subject  there  are  five  channels  of  varying 
market  value.  First.  Consular  reports,  meagre 
and  often  inaccessible.  The  United  States  has  no 
consuls  in  Armenia,  and  consequently  no  “  official  ” 
knowledge  of  its  condition.  European  consuls  are 
expected  to  report  nothing  that  they  are  not  nbsq-. 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan .  67 

lutely  sure  of,  and  are  given  to  understand,  both  by 
their  own  governments  and  by  that  of  Turkey,  that 
they  must  not  make  themselves  obnoxious  in  seeking 
information.  They  are,  at  best,  passive  until  their 
aid  is  sought,  and  then  alarm  the  suppliants  by  refus¬ 
ing  to  touch  the  case  unless  allowed  to  use  names. 
Second.  Missionaries,  whose  mouths  are  sealed. 
They  would  be  the  best  informed  and  most  trust¬ 
worthy  witnesses.  But  they  feel  it  their  first  duty  to 
safeguard  the  great  benevolent  and  educational  in¬ 
terests  committed  to  them  by  not  exciting  the  sus¬ 
picion  and  hostility  of  the  government.  Their 
position  is  a  delicate  one,  conditional  on  their  neu¬ 
trality,  like  that  of  officers  of  the  Red  Cross  Society 
in  war.  Third.  Occasional  travellers,  whose  first 
impressions  are  also  often  their  last  and  whose  hasty 
jottings  are  likely  to  be  very  interesting  and  may  be 
very  misleading.  Not  so  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Isabella 
Bird  Bishop,  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
there,  and  who  embodied  the  result  of  her  careful  in¬ 
vestigations  in  an  article  entitled,  “  The  Shadow  of 
the  Kurd  ”  in  The  Contemporary  Reviezvi  Fourth. 
Much  evidence  from  Armenian  sources,  which  is 
often  unjustly  discredited  as  being  the  exaggeration, 
if  not  fabrication,  of  “  revolutionists  who  seek  a 
political  end.”  Fifth.  Turkish  official  reports,  often 
obtained  by  corrupt  or  violent  means,  or  invented  to 
suit  the  circumstances.  Though  the  financial  credit 
of  the  Ottoman  Government  was  long  ago  exhausted, 
there  are  some  well  meaning  people  who  still  place 
confidence  in  Turkish  explanations  and  promises. 

1  The  Contemporary  Review,  May  and  June,  1891. 


68 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE? 

The  scope  of  this  book  does  not  permit  a  discus¬ 
sion  of  even  the  Armenian  phase  of  the  Eastern 
question,  beyond  a  bare  reference  to  its  possible 
three-fold  solution.  There  is,  first,  Russian  annexa¬ 
tion,  a  step  for  which  the  sufferers  themselves  are 
praying,  and  which  Russia  is  prepared  to  execute  at 
a  moment’s  notice.  If  this  were  the  only  alterna¬ 
tive  from  present  conditions,  it  should  be  universally 
welcomed.  Russia  is  crude,  stupid,  and,  in  certain 
aspects,  brutal,  but  she  is  not  decrepit,  debauched, 
and  doting  like  official  Turkey.  The  diseases  of  the 
“Sick  Man”  are  incurable  and  increasing,  while  the 
bully  of  the  North  is  young,  of  good  blood,  and  with 
an  energy  suggestive  of  a  force  of  nature.  Russia 
shaves  half  the  head  of  seceders  from  the  Orthodox 
Church  and  transports  them.  Turkey,  with  more 
tact,  quietly  “  disposes  ”  of  converts  from  Islam, 
many  of  whom  would  step  forth  if  the  prospect  were 
less  than  death.  The  Jewish  question,  from  the 
Russian  standpoint,  is  largely  a  social  and  industrial 
one,  like  the  Chinese  question  in  the  United  States. 
When  the  writer  passed  from  Turkish  Armenia  into 
the  Caucasus,  it  was  from  a  desert  to  a  garden  ; 
from  danger  to  perfect  security  ;  from  want  and  sor¬ 
row  to  plenty  and  cheer. 

Until  lately,  thousands  of  Turkish  Armenians  have 
oeen  in  the  habit  of  crossing  the  Russian  border  in 
spring,  earning  good  wages  during  the  summer,  and 
returning  to  spend  the  winter  with  their  families. 
This  has  opened  their  eyes  to  the  contrast  between 
the  two  lands  and  turned  their  hearts  to  Russia.. 


Condition  of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan .  69 

The  second  solution  is  Armenian  autonomy,  like 
that  of  Bulgaria,  the  fond  dream  of  those  who 
ignore  the  geographical  difficulties,  the  character, 
and  distribution  of  the  population,  and  the  temper 
of  Russia  and  other  powers  by  whom  it  would  have  , 
to  be  established  and  maintained. 

The  only  other  method  is  radical  and  vigorous  ad¬ 
ministrative  reforms,  which  the  European  powers 
should  initiate,  and  report  to  Turkey,  instead  of  vice 
versa ,  as  arranged  in  Article  LXI.  of  the  Berlin 
Treaty.  These  “Christian  nations”  have  for  six¬ 
teen  years  violated  most  sacred  treaty  obligations, 
and  England  a  special  guarantee  for  such  reforms. 
While  attended  with  difficulties,  this  is  the  most 
desirable  solution,  and  is  favored  by  the  great  mass 
of  Armenians  throughout  Turkey,  by  the  Anglo- 
Armenian  Association,1  founded  by  Prof.  James 
Bryce,  M.P.,  and  by  the  Phil-Armenic  Society  in  this 
country.2  The  real  spirit  and  aim  of  the  Armenian 
race,  as  a  whole,  is  unfortunately  obscured,  in  the 
mind  of  the  public,  by  utterances  and  acts  of  a  few 
irresponsible  Armenian  hot-heads,  who  have  imbibed 
nihilistic  views  in  Europe,  and  are  trying,  in  a  very 
bungling  way,  to  apply  them. 

1  The  Case  for  the  Armenians.  London:  Anglo-Armenian  Asso¬ 
ciation. 

■  A  n  Appeal  to  the  Christians  of  America  by  the  Christians  of  Ar¬ 
menia.  New  York  :  Phil-Armenic  Society. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OTTOMAN  PROMISES  AND  THEIR  FUL¬ 
FILMENT. 

IMPERIAL  edicts  of  toleration,  and  promises  of 
reform  on  the  part  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  have 
been  very  numerous,  and  have  served  Turkey 
well  as  political  expedients.  Their  value  is  that  of 
so  much  dust  thrown  in  the  eyes  of  Europe  when 
her  aid  or  her  mercy  was  needful.  As  these  reforms 
have  all  been  promised  under  pressure,  they  have 
likewise  been  abandoned  just  so  fast  and  so  far 
as  the  pressure  has  been  removed.  In  many  cases 
there  has  been  serious  retrogression.  The  sow  that 
is  washed  is  forever  returning  to  wallow  in  the  mire. 
It  is  as  true  of  the  “  Sick  Man  ”  as  of  him  out  of 
whom  seven  devils  were  cast,  that  the  last  state  of 
that  man  is  worse  than  the  first.  This  is  emphat¬ 
ically  so  in  regard  to  the  freedom  of  the  press,  the 
curtailment  of  religious  and  educational  privileges, 
and  the  safety  of  the  lives  and  property  of 
Christians. 

The  following  is  a  partia.  list  of  Turkish  promises 
which  have  been  broken  in  whole  or  in  part,  with 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  made. 

I.  In  1829,  by  the  Treaty  of  Adrianople  at  the 
close  of  a  war  with  Russia,  Turkey  promised  to  re- 

70. 


Ottoman  Promises  and  their  Fulfilment.  71 

form  in  her  treatment  of  Orthodox  Christians,  and 
acknowledged  Russia’s  right  to  interfere  in  their 
behalf.1 

2.  In  1839  Sultan  Abd-ul-Medjid,  in  order  to  en¬ 
list  European  sympathy  and  aid — when  the  victori¬ 
ous  Egyptian  army  under  Ibrahim  Pasha  was  threat¬ 
ening  Constantinople — issued  an  Imperial  rescript, 
the  Hatti  Sheriff  in  which  he  promised  to  protect 
the  life,  honor,  and  property  of  all  his  subjects  irre¬ 
spective  of  race  or  religion. 

3-.  In  1844  the  same  Sultan  Abd-ul-Medjid  gave  a 
solemn  pledge  that  thenceforth  no  apostate  from 
Mohammedanism  who  had  formerly  been  a  Christian 
should  be  put  to  death.  This  pledge  was  extorted 
from  the  Sultan  by  the  Ambassador  of  Great  Britain, 
supported  by  those  of  other  Powers,  after  the  public 
execution  in  Constantinople  of  a  young  Armenian, 
Ovagim,  who  had  declared  himself  a  Mohammedan, 
but  who  afterwards  bravely  maintained  his  Christian 
profession  in  the  face  of  torture  and  death.  Since 
that  time  many  Moslems  even  have  embraced  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  have  been  put  out  of  the  way,  quietly  in 
most  cases. 

4.  In  1850  the  same  Sultan,  on  the  demand  of  the 
same  Powers,  in  view  of  the  continued  and  fierce  per¬ 
secution  of  the  Protestant  subjects  of  the  Porte, 
granted  the  latter  a  charter,  guaranteeing  them  lib¬ 
erty  of  conscience  and  all  the  rights  as  a  distinct 
civil  community,  which  had  been  enjoyed  by  the 
other  Christian  communities  of  the  empire.  But  to 
this  day  the  numerous  Protestants  of  Stamboul  have 
1  Morfill’s  Russia ,  p.  287.  Putnam, 


72 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


never  been  allowed  to  erect  even  one  church ,  although 
they  have  owned  a  site  and  had  the  necessary  funds, 
and  been  petitioning  for  a  firman  to  build  for  fifteen 
years.1  The  Greek  Protestants  of  Ordoo,  who  have 
a  church,  are  not  allowed  to  worship  in  it.  There 
are  many  other  flagrant  violations  of  this  charter. 

5.  In  1856,  after  the  Crimean  War,  Sultan  Abd-ul- 
Medjid,to  anticipate  demands  which  he  knew  would 
be  included  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris  then  being  drawn 
up,  issued  the  Imperial  edict  known  as  the  Hatti 
Humayoun.  This  edict  not  only  promised  perfect 
equality  of  civil  rights  to  all  subjects  of  the  Porte, 
but  also  added  :  “  As  all  forms  of  religion  are  and 
shall  be  freely  professed  in  my  dominions,  no  subject 
of  my  empire  shall  be  hindered  in  the  exercise  of  the 
religion  that  he  professes,  nor  shall  he  in  any  way  be 
annoyed  on  this  account. ”  But  as  the  interpretation 
and  enforcement  of  this  edict  has  remained  absolutely 
in  the  hands  of  the  Turkish  Government,  it  is  need¬ 
less  to  add  that  it  has  been  a  dead  letter.3 

6.  In  1878  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  entered 
into  just  before  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  included  these 

1  Rev.  H.  O.  Dwight,  The  Independent,  New  York,  January  17,  1895. 

2  At  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War  Lord  Aberdeen  said  : 

“  Notwithstanding  the  favorable  opinion  entertained  by  many,  it 
is  difficult  to  believe  in  the  improvement  of  the  Turks.  It  is  true 
that,  under  the  pressure  of  the  moment,  benevolent  decrees  may  be 
issued  ;  but  these,  except  under  the  eye  of  some  Foreign  Minister, 
are  entirely  neglected.  Their  whole  system  is  radically  vicious  and 
inhuman.  I  do  not  refer  to  fables  which  may  be  invented  at  St. 
Petersburg  or  Vienna,  but  to  numerous  despatches  of  Lord  Stratford 
(de  Radcliffe)  himself,  and  of  our  own  consuls,  who  describe  a  fright¬ 
ful  picture  of  lawless  oppression  and  cruelty.”  (Sir  Theodore  Mar¬ 
tin’s  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort ,  vol.  ii. ,  p.  528.)  Quoted  by  Canon 
MacColl,  The  Contemporary  Review ,  January,  1895. 


Ottoman  Promises  and  their  Fulfilment .  73 

words  in  its  First  Article:  “His  Imperial  Majesty, 
the  Sultan,  promises  to  England  to  introduce  neces¬ 
sary  reforms,  to  be  agreed  upon  later  between  the 
two  Powers,  into  the  government  and  for  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  the  Christian  and  other  subjects  of  the  Porte 
in  these  territories  [Armenia]  ;  and  in  order  to  enable 
England  to  make  necessary  provision  for  executing 
her  engagement  [the  keeping  of  Russia  out  of  Ar¬ 
menia],  His  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Sultan,  further  con¬ 
sents  to  assign  the  Island  of  Cyprus  to  be  occupied  and 
administered  by  England.”  Comment  unnecessary. 

7.  In  July,  1878,  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  religious 
liberty  and  the  public  exercise  of  all  forms  of  religion 
were  guaranteed  in  separate  articles  to  the  people 
of  Bulgaria,  Eastern  Roumelia,  Montenegro,  Servia, 
Roumania,  and  finally  to  all  subjects  of  the  Porte  in 
every  part  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Cases  of  glaring 
violation  of  the  principle  of  religious  liberty  may  be 
found  in  Appendix  C.  on  The  Censorship  of  the  Press. 

The  Sixty-first  Article  of  the  same  treaty  reads 
thus:  “The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  to  carry  out, 
without  further  delay,  the  improvements  and  re¬ 
forms  demanded  by  local  requirements  in  the  prov¬ 
inces  inhabited  by  the  Armenians,  and  to  guarantee 
their  security  against  the  Circassians  and  Kurds.  It 
will  periodically  make  known  the  steps  taken  to  this 
effect  to  the  Powers,  who  will  superintend  their  ap¬ 
plication.” 

What  the  condition  of  Turkey  was  three  years 
later,  not  simply  in  Armenia,  but  throughout  Asia 
Minor,  is  shown  by  a  report  of  Mr.  Wilson,  British 
Consul-General  in  Anatolia. 

“  There  has  probably  never  been  a  time  in  which 


74 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


the  prestige  of  the  Courts  has  fallen  so  low,  or  in 
which  the  administration  of  justice  has  been  so  venal 
and  corrupt.  The  most  open  and  shameless  bribery 
is  practised  from  highest  to  lowest ;  prompt,  even- 
handed  justice  for  rich  and  poor  alike  is  unknown; 
sentence  is  given  in  favor  of  the  suitor  who  ‘places’ 
his  money  most  judiciously;  imprisonment  or  free¬ 
dom  has  in  many  places  become  a  matter  of  bribery; 
robbers,  when  arrested,  are  protected  by  members  of 
the  Court,  who  share  their  spoil ;  a  simple  order  may 
send  an  innocent  man  to  prison  for  months  ;  crime 
goes  unpunished,  and  all  manner  of  oppression  and 
injustice  is  committed  with  impunity.  The  Cadis,1 
especially  those  in  the  cazas,2  are,  as  a  rule,  ignorant 
men,  with  no  education,  knowing  little  of  law,  except 
the  Sheri,  on  which  they  base  their  decisions,  and 
sometimes  not  overmuch  of  that.  As  to  the  mem¬ 
bers,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  they  are  nearly  all 
equally  ignorant  of  law,  and  that  probably  not  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  them 'can  write  Turkish,  or  read  the 
sentences  to  which  they  attach  their  seals.  In  the 
Commercial  Courts,  the  Presidents  are  frequently 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  duties  which  they  have  to 
perform.  The  low  pay  of  the  Cadis,  the  short  term 
— two  years — during  which  they  hold  their  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  obtain  them, 
render  the  receipt  of  bribes  almost  a  necessity.  The 
first  thought  of  a  Cadi  who  buys  an  appointment  in 
the  provinces  is  to  recoup  himself  for  his  outlay; 
the  second,  to  obtain  enough  money  to  purchase  a 
new  place  when  his  term  of  office  is  finished.  Even 
under  this  system  men  are  to  be  found  who  refuse 
1  Judge.  2  Local  districts. 


Ottoman  Promises  and  their  Fulfilment.  75 

to  receive  bribes  ;  and  there  are  others  who,  whilst 
giving  way  to  temptation,  deplore  the  necessity  to 
do  so.”  1 

The  sequel  to  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  is  found  in 
the  next  chapter. 

The  non-fulfilment  of  Ottoman  promises  in  regard 
to  Christian  subjects,  and  the  frequent  massacres  of 
the  latter  are  an  exact  fulfilment  of 

THE  OFFICIAL  PRAYER  OF  ISLAM 

which  is  used  throughout  Turkey,  and  daily  repeated 
in  the  Cairo  “Azhar”  University  by  ten  thousand 
Mohammedan  students  from  all  lands.  The  follow¬ 
ing  translation  is  from  the  Arabic  : 

“  I  seek  refuge  with  Allah  from  Satan,  [the  rejeeni] 
the  accursed.  In  the  name  of  Allah  the  Compas¬ 
sionate,  the  Merciful  !  O  Lord  of  all  Creatures ! 
O  Allah  !  Destroy  the  infidels  and  polytheists,  thine 
enemies,  the  enemies  of  the  religion !  O  Allah ! 
Make  their  children  orphans,  and  defile  their 
abodes  !  Cause  their  feet  to  slip  ;  give  them  and 
their  families,  their  households  and  their  women, 
their  children  and  their  relations  by  marriage,  their 
brothers  and  their  friends,  their  possessions  and 
their  race,  their  wealth  and  their  lands,  as  booty  to 
the  Moslems,  O  Lord  of  all  Creatures!”2 

All  who  do  not  accept  Mohammed  are  included 
among  “the  infidels”  referred  to  in  the  prayer. 

1  Report  of  Mr.  Wilson,  Blue-Book ,  Turkey,  No.  8  (1881),  page 
57,  No.  48. 

2  The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem ,  p.  31.  Jessup.  Phila¬ 
delphia,  Presb.  Pub.  Soc. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  OUTCOME  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  BERLIN. 

IT  is  quite  needless  to  remark  that  Turkey,  instead 
of  doing  anything  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  Armenians,  has  done  much  to  make  it 
worse  during  the  past  fifteen  years.  The  question 
now  arises,  what  have  the  Powers  signatory  to  the 
Berlin  Treaty  done  to  compel  the  Sublime  Porte 
“to  carry  out  the  improvements  and  reforms” 
demanded  in  the  Sixty-first  Article  ?  And  what 
steps  has  Great  Britain  taken  in  addition,  to  dis¬ 
charge  the  additional  obligation  for  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  Armenia  which  she  assumed  by  the  so-called 
Cyprus  Convention  ? 

We  find  that  in  November,  1879,  the  English 
Government,  seeing  that  matters  throughout  Asia 
Minor  were  really  going  from  bad  to  worse,  went 
the  length  of  ordering  an  English  squadron  to  the 
Archipelago  for  the  purpose  of  a  naval  demonstra¬ 
tion.  The  Turkish  Government  was  greatly  ex¬ 
cited,  and  with  a  view  to  getting  the  order  counter¬ 
manded,  made  the  fairest  promises. 

But  England  was  not  the  only  Power  aroused.  On 
June  11,  1880,  an  Identical  Note  of  the  Great 
Powers  demanded  the  execution  of  the  clauses  of 


76 


The  Outcome  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin .  77 


the  Treaty  of  Berlin  which  had  remained  in  suspense. 
In  the  conclusion  of  the  Identical  Note  a  clear 
recognition  is  made  of  the  fact  that  the  interest  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Ottoman  Empire ,  requires 
the  execution  of  the  Sixty-first  Article  of  the  Treaty  of 
Berlin ,  and  that  the  joint  and  incessant  action  of  the 
Powers  can  alone  bring  about  this  result. 

On  July  5th,  the  Turkish  Foreign  Minister  sent  a 
Note  in  reply  to  the  representatives  of  the  Powers. 
“  It  is  of  great  length  and  small  real  value,  except  as 
combining  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  distinguish¬ 
ing  characteristics  of  modern  Ottoman  diplomacy, 
namely,  first,  great  facility  in  assimilating  the  ad¬ 
ministrative  and  constitutional  jargon  of  civilized 
countries  ;  second,  consummate  cunning  in  conceal¬ 
ing  under  deceptive  appearances  the  barbarous  reality 
of  deeds  and  intentions ;  third,  cool  audacity  in 
making  promises  which  there  is  neither  the  power 
nor  desire  to  make  good  ;  and,  finally,  a  paternal  and 
oily  tone,  intended  to  create  the  impression  that  the 
Turkish  Government  is  the  victim  of  unjust  preju¬ 
dices  and  odious  calumnies.” 

As  soon  as  the  reply  of  the  Porte  was  received, 
Earl  Granville  sent  copies  to  the  British  Consuls  in 
Asia  Minor,  inviting  observations  thereon.  Eight 
detailed  replies  to  this  request  are  published  in  the 
Blue-Book.1  They  concur  in  a  crushing  condemna¬ 
tion  of  the  Ottoman  Government. 

These  conclusions,  moderately  and  very  diffusely 
expressed  in  diplomatic  phraseology,  are  reflected  in 

1  Blue-Book ,  Turkey,  No.  6,  1881,  reports  of  Wilson,  Bennett, 
Chermside,  Trotter,  Stewart,  Clayton,  Everett,  and  Bilotti. 


78 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


the  Collective  Note  which  was  sent  on  Sept.  1 1,  i88o5 
to  the  Sublime  Porte  by  the  Ambassadors  of  the 
Great  Powers.  On  October  3d,  without  making  the 
slightest  references  to  censures  which  had  been 
addressed  to  it,  and  even  appearing  completely  to 
ignore  the  Collective  Note,  the  Porte,  assuming  a 
haughty  tone,  merely  notified  the  Powers  of  what  it 
intended  to  do. 

In  a  Circular  of  the  12th  of  January,  1881,  Earl 
Granville  tried  again  to  induce  the  other  five  Powers 
to  join  in  further  representations  to  the  Sublime 
Porte  on  the  subject.  But  the  other  Powers  seem 
to  have  thought  that  the  diplomatic  comedy  had 
gone  far  enough,  and  sent  evasive  answers.  Prince 
Bismarck  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  would  be 
“serious  inconvenience”  in  raising  the  Armenian 
question,  and  France  hid  behind  Germany.  Such 
action  by  the  powers  had  been  anticipated  by  the 
British  Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  Mr.  Goschen, 
who  had  already  written  to  Earl  Granville:  “  If  they 
[the  Powers]  refuse,  or  give  only  lukewarm  support, 
the  responsibility  will  not  lie  with  Her  Majesty’s 
Government.”  The  whole  correspondence  was  sim¬ 
ply  a  matter  of  form.1  I  have  condensed  this  outline 
of  events  since  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  from  Armenia, 
the  Armenians,  and  the  Treaties ,2  following  as  far  as 
possible  the  words  of  the  writer,  M.  G.  Rolin-Jae- 
quemyns,  a  high  authority  on  International  Law. 

From  1881  to  the  present  time,  almost  with¬ 
out  exception,  England,  on  her  part,  has  allowed 

1  Blue-Book ,  Turkey,  1881,  p.  242. 

5  Published  by  John  Hey  wood,  London,  1891,  pp.  82-89. 


The  Outcome  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  79 


no  mention  in  her  Blue-Books  of  the  manner  in 
which  her  proteges  and  those  of  Europe  have  been 
treated.  Her  energies  have  seemed  to  be  devoted 
to  stifling  the  ever-increasing  cry  of  despair  from 
Armenia,  instead  of  attempting  her  rescue  or  relief. 
The  other  Powers  are  only  less  guilty,  in  proportion 
as  they  have  done  less  to  perpetuate  Ottoman  mis¬ 
rule,  and  have  made  less  pretence  of  sympathy  and 
help  for  the  oppressed.  Freeman  says  of  England, 

“  By  waging  a  war  on  behalf  of  the  Turk,  by  sign¬ 
ing  a  treaty  which  left  the  nations  of  South-eastern 
Europe  [and  Asia  Minor]  at  the  mercy  of  the  Turk,  by 
propping  up  the  wicked  power  of  the  Turk  in  many 
ways,  we  have  done  a  great  wrong  to  the  nations 
which  are  under  his  yoke  ;  and  that  wrong  which  we 
have  ourselves  done  it  is  our  duty  to  undo.”  1 

It  is  thus  clearly  seen  that  both  the  Sixty-first 
Article  of  the  Berlin  Treaty,  and  the  Cyprus  Con¬ 
vention  as  well,  have  been  of  positively  no  value  in 
securing  for  the  Armenians  any  of  the  reforms  which 
were  therein  recognized  as  imperatively  called  for 
and  guaranteed.  It  is  also  clear  that  the  condition 
of  Armenia,  and  of  Turkey  as  a  whole,  is  even  vastly 
worse  and  more  hopeless  than  it  was  twenty  years  ago. 

This  condition,  I  further  maintain,  is  in  large 
measure  directly  attributable  to  those  treaties  them¬ 
selves  and  to  the  attitude  subsequently  assumed  by 
the  Powers  which  signed  them.  It  is  said  that  the 
Armenians  have  brought  trouble  on  themselves,  by 
stirring  up  the  Turks.  I  ask  what  stirred  the  Ar¬ 
menians  up?  It  was  primarily  the  Sixty-first  Article 

1  Freeman,  The  Turks  in  Europe . 


8o 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey , 


of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  Many  a  time  has  that 
precious  paragraph  been  quoted  to  me  in  the  wilds 
of  Kurdistan  by  common  Armenian  artisans  and 


PROFESSOR  MINAS  TCHERAZ. 

Present  at  the  Berlin  Congress. 


ignorant  villagers.  They  had  welcomed  it  as  a 
second  evangel,  and  believed  the  word  of  England 
as  they  did  the  gospels.  It  was  that  Article  which 


The  Outcome  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  81 


roused  them  from  the  torpor  of  centuries.  They  saw 
Bulgaria  rise  from  her  blood  and  shame  and  enter 
on  a-career  of  honor  and  prosperity  under  the  segis 
of  European  protection.  Is  it  surprising  that  hopes 
and  aspirations  have  been  born  anew  in  the  heart  of 
the  Armenian  race — a  people  not  inferior  to  the 
Bulgarians  and  in  many  respects  more  talented  ? 

I  have  rarely  found  it  difficult  to  persuade  intelli¬ 
gent  Armenians  that  an  autonomous  Armenia  is 
impracticable.  But  I  have  never  been  able  to  con¬ 
vince  one  of  them  that  the  course  of  England  and 
the  other  powers  has  been  anything  but  one  of  sel¬ 
fishness,  jealousy,  and  dishonor  as  far  as  fulfilment 
of  their  treaty  obligations  is  concerned. 

During  a  residence  of  four  years  in  Eastern  Tur¬ 
key  I  noticed  a  marked  and  rapid  alienation  of  Arme¬ 
nian  sentiment  from  England  in  favor  of  Russia,  who 
now  seems  to  them  the  only  source  of  succor.  They 
see  in  England  only  a  dog  in  the  manger. 

There  is  another  sequel  to  the  Berlin  Treaty  and 
to  the  attitude  of  the  powers,  namely,  its  effect  on 
the  Turks  themselves.  The  natural  enmity  and  con¬ 
tempt  of  the  Moslem  rulers  and  population  gener¬ 
ally  for  the  Christian  subjects  has  been  greatly 
increased  by  reason  of  the  pressure  which  foreign 
Powers  have  occasionally  brought  to  bear  on  the 
Turks  in  order  to  procure  relief  for  the  Christian. 
To  be  sure  the  only  hope  of  such  relief  is  from  with¬ 
out.  But  the  pressure  should  not  be  of  a  petty, 
nagging  and  galling  nature.  1  his  is  worse  than 
nothing.  What  is  needed  is  prompt,  decisive ,  and  final 

action. 

6 


82 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


And  things  have  now  arrived  at  such  a  pass  that 
in  such  action  lies  the  only  hope  of  preventing  a  ter¬ 
rible  catastrophe,  which  will  eclipse  even  the  massa¬ 
cres  of  Sassoun.  The  wheels  of  progress  will  not  go 
backward  except  as  they  are  broken.  The  Chris¬ 
tians  of  Armenia  can  be  exterminated,  but  it  is  too 
late  for  them  to  accept  slavery  or  Islam.  They  may 
be  slaughtered  like  sheep,  but  they  will  not  all  die 
like  dogs.  The  revolutionary  movement,  as  it  is 
called,  is  thus  far  nothing  but  a  blind  turning  of  the 
worm.  It  is  ill  considered,  without  resources,  reck¬ 
less,  and  foreign  to  the  real  spirit,  objects,  and  meth¬ 
ods  of  the  Armenians  on  Turkish  soil.  It  is  not 
denied  that  there  are  a  few  Armenians  in  Europe 
who,  in  despair  and  for  lack  of  better  teaching,  have 
imbibed  Nihilistic  views  and  are  trying,  in  a  very 
bungling  way,  to  apply  them.  They  are  hated  by  the 
vast  majority  of  Armenians  in  Turkey.  They  are 
related  to  the  question  at  issue  in  the  same  way  and 
degree  as  train  wreckers  and  box-car  burners  were  to 
the  industrial  problem  during  .the  riots  of  Chicago 
in  July  last,  and  deserve  the  same  treatment.  The 
Turks  take  great  pains  to  thrust  them  into  public 
notice,  as  a  cloak  for  themselves,  and  with  good  suc¬ 
cess.  The  Turkish  Government  and  its  partisans,  in 
order  to  conceal  the  real  character  of  the  massacre 
in  Sassoun, have  made  persistent,  extensive,  and  dis¬ 
honorable  use  of  a  letter  by  the  first  President  of 
Robert  College,  Constantinople,  Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin, 
written  December  23,  1894.  Dr.  Hamlin’s  vigorous 
and  indignant  protest  may  be  found  in  Appendix  C. 

The  idea  of  Armenian  revolution  is  a  new  thing 


The  Outcome  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  83 


in  the  history  of  that  peaceable  race,  which  has 
quietly  submitted  for  centuries  to  the  yoke  of  the 
Turk.  But  it  is  the  natural  outcome  of  the  horrible 
situation  in  Armenia  since  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  and 
the  disease  is  bound 
to  grow  more  viru¬ 
lent  and  contagious 
until  the  European 
doctors  apply  vigor¬ 
ous  and  radical  treat¬ 
ment  to  the  “  Sick 
Man.”  It  is  difficult 
to  see  how  anything 
but  a  surgical  opera¬ 
tion  can  be  helpful. 

The  knife  has  fre¬ 
quently  been  used  in 
the  case  of  this  incur¬ 
able  patient  during 
the  present  century, 
and  always  with  ex¬ 
cellent  results,  as  for 
instance  in  the  case 
of  Greece,  Lebanon, 

Bulgaria,  Boznia- 
Herzegovina,  and 
Egypt. 

A  situation  in  many 

respects  parallel  to  that  in  Armenia  existed  until 
lately  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  How  quickly 
and  completely  that  difficult  problem  has  been 
solved,  is  narrated  by  M.  de  Blowitz  in  the  October, 


ZEIBEK,  TURKISH  SOLDIER, 
“  IRREGULAR.” 


84 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


1894,  issue  of  The  Nineteenth  Century,  from  which 
I  condense  in  his  own  words. 

“  The  orders,  given  after  the  taking  over  of  the 
country,  to  surrender  all  arms  or  to  destroy  them,  was 
given  a  sweeping  application.  Yet,  before  the  victo¬ 
rious  entry  of  the  Austro-Hungarians,  each  Bosnian 
each  Herzegovinian,  was  a  walking  arsenal. 

“  To-day  weapons  and  ambuscades  are  things  of 
the  romantic  past.  Twelve  years  have  sufficed,  un¬ 
der  M.  de  Kallay’s  administration,  not  only  to  re¬ 
move  all  traces  of  the  wild,  inhospitable,  inaccessible 
Bosnia  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  but  indeed 
and  especially  to  banish  even  the  memory  of  those 
dark  days  of  strenuous  battle,  and  to  wipe  away 
from  the  hearts  of  both  invader  and  invaded  all 
traces  of  the  hate  which  then  animated  them.  In 
the  year  1882,  the  superior  administration  of  the  two 
provinces  (Bosnia  and  Herzegovina)  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Minister  of  Finance  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Empire,  who  was  then,  and  who  is  still, 
M.  de  Kallay.  From  this  moment  all  is  changed. 
The  powers  given  to  the  new  administration  are 
almost  unlimited.  The  civil  element  has  been  sub-* 
stituted  for  the  military  element,  and  pacification  has 
succeeded  conquest.  The  greatest  effort  is  made  to 
reassure  all  minds.  Not  a  single  minaret  has  disap¬ 
peared,  not  a  muezzin  is  deprived  of  his  resources.” 

A  recent  writer  wisely  says  that  “  the  Armenian 
question,  if  it  ever  be  settled  at  all,  must  be  taken 
out  of  the  Turk’s  hands,  whether  he  like  it  or  not. 

.  .  .  And  we  have  an  opportunity  now,  which 

may  never  come  our  way  again,  of  settling  a  diffi- 


The  Outcome  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  85 


culty  which,  if  allowed  to  develop  much  longer, 
will  prove  more  fruitful  of  mischief  than  any  with 
which  we  have  been  confronted  for  a  generation  or 

tt  1 

more. 

C.  B.  Norman,  special  corre¬ 
spondent  of  The  London  Times , 
in  his  Armenia  and  the  Cam¬ 
paign  of  i8yf  wrote  words 
which  are  even  truer  to-day. 

I  condense : 

“  Naturally,  since  I  have  been 
here  I  have  had  many,  very 
many,  opportunities  of  convers¬ 
ing  with  Turkish  officers  and 
men  on  the  so-called  Eastern 
Question  ;  and  the  consequence 
is  that,  arriving  in  the  country 
a  strong  philo-Turk,  deeply 
impressed  with  the  necessity  of 
preserving  the  ‘  integrity  of  the 
Empire  ’  in  order  to  uphold 
‘  British  interests,’  I  now  fain 
•  would  cry  with  Mr.  Freeman  : 

‘  Perish,  British  interests,  perish 

our  dominion  in  India,  rather  Turkish  soldier, 

.  .  .......  “regular. 

than  that  we  should  strike  a  blow 

on  behalf  of  the  wrong  against  the  right !  ’1 2  3 

“  There  is  no  finer  race  in  the  world  than  the  Turk 


1  “  Diplomatist,”  “  The  Armenian  Question  ”  in  The  New  Review, 
January,  1895. 

2  Pp.  158-9.  London:  Cassell,  Petter,  &  Galpin. 

3  Speech  in  St.  James’s  Hall,  December,  1876. 


86 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


proper.  Brave,  honest,  industrious,  truthful,  frugal, 
kind-hearted,,  and  hospitable,  all  who  know  the 
Osmanli  speak  well  of  him.  He  is  as  much  oppressed 
by  the  curse  of  misgovernment  as  his  Christian  fellow- 
subject  ;  and  had  the  members  of  the  Eastern  Ques¬ 
tion  Association  as  keen  a  sense  of  justice  as  they 
have  love  of  writing,  they  would  long  ago  have  oblit¬ 
erated  the  word  ‘  Christian  ’  from  their  lengthy  docu¬ 
ments,  and  striven  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
lower  orders  of  the  subjects  of  the  Porte,  down¬ 
trodden  as  they  are  by  an  effete  section  of  the 
Mohammedan  race,  who  have  degenerated  in  mind, 
body,  and  estate,  since  coming  in  contact  with 
Western  civilization. 

“  I  do  not  for  one  moment  mean  to  deny  that  there 
are  honest,  energetic  Turks,  capable  of  exercising 
their  talents  for  their  country’s  good  ;  but  these  men 
are  powerless.  The  vital  powers  of  the  nation  are 
so  sapped  by  centuries  of  misrule,  the  minds  of  the 
majority  are  so  imbued  with  the  belief  that  all  ideas 
not  born  of  Moslem  brains  and  sanctified  by  Moslem 
usage  are  false,  and  to  be  scorned,  that  were  any 
honest-minded  gentleman  to  rise  to  power,  and  en¬ 
deavor  to  check  the  present  system  of  misgovern¬ 
ment,  he  would  not  remain  in  office  one  week. 
Captain  Gambier’s  able  article  on  the  ‘  Life  of 
Midhat  Pasha’  1  bears  me  out  in  this  idea.” 

1  The  Nineteenth  Century ,  January,  1878. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

\ 

THE  SULTAN  AND  THE  SUBLIME  PORTE. 

CHURCH  and  State  are  one  and  inseparable  in 
Turkey.  The  Sultan  of  the  empire  is  also 
Calif  of  the  Mohammedan  religious  world. 
He  cannot  abdicate  either  office,  if  he  would,  without 
vacating  the  other  by  the  same  act.  In  fact,  herein 
lies  the  secret  of  the  present  Sultan’s  policy,  which 
seems  suicidal  on  general  principles  of  government. 
He  has,  on  the  one  hand,  been  lavish  in  the  building 
and  repairing  of  mosques,  and  in  establishing  Moslem 
schools  throughout  his  dominions.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  has  infringed  and  ignored  the  ancient  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  Christian  Patriarchates  which 
were  guaranteed  by  Mohammed  II.,  and  have  hitherto 
been  regarded  as  sacred.  He  has  blocked  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  new  Christian  schools  and  churches,  and  even 
the  repairing  of  such  as  are  falling  into  decay. 
There  were  formerly  thousands  of  non-Moslems  in 
civil  positions,  faithfully  serving  the  government ; 
under  the  new  regime,  however,  they  have  been 
systematically  removed  and  excluded.  And  why 
has  all  this  been  done?  Because  the  Sultan  is  a 
good  conscientious  Mohammedan,  it  is  only  fair  to 
believe.  Even  if  he  were  not  a  sincere  believer,  he 

87 


88 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


would  still  feel  compelled  to  adopt  the  same  course, 
as  a  matter  of  internal  political  necessity.  The 
Moslem  population  look  to  him  as  the  Defender  of 
the  Faith,  girded  with  the  sword  of  the  Prophet. 
He  feels  it  imperative  at  all  hazards  to  regain  lost 
prestige  over  his  fanatical  subjects,  especially  in  the 
south,  where  rumblings  of  discontent  and  disloyalty 
are  ominous. 1 

Let  us  be  reasonable  and  practical.  Why  longer 
exact  or  accept  from  the  Sultan  promises  which  he 
cannot  make  without  doing  violence  to  his  own 
conscience  and  to  his  office,  and  which  he  cannot 
execute  without  imperilling  his  throne  ?  You  might 
as  well  ask  the  Pope  to  abandon  the  doctrines  of 
temporal  sovereignty  and  of  infallibility,  which  to 
him  are  fundamental.  If  the  situation  in  Turkey  de¬ 
mands  that  anything  be  done,  and  if  the  rest  of 
humanity  and  civilization  have  any  responsibility  in 
the  matter,  let  practical  statesmen  proceed  to  busi¬ 
ness.  All  hope  of  reform  from  within  depends  on 

1  From  a  descendant  of  Dahir  Billah,  the  thirty-fifth  caliph  of 
Bagdad,  Sultan  Selim  I.  “procured  the  cession  of  his  claims,  and  ob¬ 
tained  the  right  to  deem  himself  the  shadow  of  God  upon  earth. 
Since  then  the  Ottoman  padishah  has  been  held  to  inherit  the  rights 
of  Omar  and  Haroun,  and  to  be  the  legitimate  commander  of  the 
faithful,  and,  as  such,  possessed  of  plenary  temporal  and  spiritual 
authority  over  the  followers  of  Mohammed.”  2  The  Persians  and 
Moors,  however,  reject  this  claim,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Russian  War 
not  a  few  of  the  Arab  muftis  declared  that  the  caliphate  had  been  for¬ 
feited  by  the  inglorious  defeat  of  the  Turks,  and  should  now  return 
to  the  Arab  family  of  Koreish. 

2  Freeman,  The  Saracens,  p.  158.  Quoted  by  Jessup,  The  Mo¬ 
hammedan  Missionary  Problem ,  p.  21.  Philadelphia  :  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  1879. 


The  Sultan  and  the  Sublime  Porte .  89 


the  distrustful,  distracted,  hoodwinked  Sultan,  who 
is  clearly,  in  the  circumstances,  a  helpless  and  pitiable 
object.  But  he  should  no  more  be  allowed  to  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  emancipation  of  Turkey,  than  the 
Pope  was  allowed  to  impede  the  making  of  Italy. 
“The  Prisoner  of  the  Vatican  ”  has  still  abundant 
scope  for  his  great  and  beneficent  spiritual  projects; 
and  the  Captive  at  Yildiz  Palace — for  such  he  has  for 
years  constituted  himself — may  also  be  allowed  a 
sphere  in  which  his  personal  virtues  and  ability  shall 
shine  forth,  unobscured  by  the  clouds  and  darkness 
that  surround  him  now.  He  certainly  would  be  bet¬ 
ter  off,  and  his  subjects  also — Moslem  no  less  than 
Christian. 

The  shrieks  of  ten  thousand  slaughtered  Arme¬ 
nians  pierce  for  the  moment  above  the  groans  of 
others.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  all  the 
races  in  Turkey  are  under  the  same  curse,  and  that 
the  present  is  a  chance  to  help  them  as  well  as  the 
Armenians. 

According  to  the  Koran,  which  is  the  basis  and 
ultimate  authority  of  Mohammedan  law — Code 
Napoleon,  treaty  stipulations,  and  Imperial  Irade's 
notwithstanding, — the  whole  non-Moslem  population 
of  Turkey  are  outlaws.  The  millions  of  ancient, 
hereditary  inhabitants,  whether  Greek,  Armenian, 
Nestorian,  Jacobite,  Jew,  or  Syrian,  are  considered 
aliens.  Their  legal  status  is  that  of  prisoners  of  war, 
with  corresponding  rights  and  responsibilities.1  Not 
one  of  them  is  expected  or  even  allowed  to  serve  in 
the  army.  Non-Moslems,  whose  services  are  indis- 

1  Hughes,  Notes  on  Muhammadanism ,  pp.  209,  210. 


9o 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 

pensable  to  the  government,  are,  in  rare  cases,  put  in 
civil  offices,  especially  financial,  for  which  no  Moham¬ 
medan  of  sufficient  integrity  or  ability  can  be  found. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  above  is  true  in 
theory,  and  it  is  equally  true  that  the  theory  is  car¬ 
ried  out  so  far  as  fear  of  intervention  by  Christian 
nations  permits. 

But  in  this  hour,  when  our  hearts  are  stirred  by  the 
lot  of  our  co-religionists  under  the  Crescent,  let  us  not 
forget  that  the  Moslem  population  almost  equally  is 
cursed  and  impoverished  by  Turkish  misrule,  venal¬ 
ity,  and  taxation.  They  drink  the  cup  of  woe,  all 
but  the  more  bitter  dregs  of  religious  persecution, 
which  is  reserved  for  Christian  lips.  Their  be¬ 
numbed  condition,  natural  stolidity,  and  unquestion¬ 
ing  obedience  to  Islam,  a  creed  whose  cardinal  prin¬ 
ciple  is  submission,1  accounts  for  the  fact  that  they 
do  not  appear  as  a  factor  of  the  problem.  Yet  even 
Mohammedans  often  secretly  come  pleading  that 
Europe  take  some  interest  in  their  case  too.  In  the 
name  of  humanity,  yes,  of  Christianity,  let  them  not 
be  forgotten. 

“An  Eastern  Resident,”  writing  from  Constantino¬ 
ple,  in  an  article  entitled  “  Sultan  Abd-ul-Hamid,” 
in  The  Contemporary  Review,  January,  1895,  gives  an 
able  analysis  of  the  Sultan’s  position  and  policy, 
showing  at  the  same  time  great  appreciation  of  His 
Majesty  as  a  man.  His  position  and  relations  to  the 
Sublime  Porte  are  not  well  understood  by  the  pub¬ 
lic,  and  could  hardly  be  better  stated  than  in  these 
extracts  : 

% 

1  Hughes,  Notes  on  Muhammadanism,  p.  10. 


true  Caliph — a  successor  of  the  Prophet — the  chief 
defender  of  the  faith,  under  God  the  absolute  arbi¬ 
ter  of  its  destinies.  He  has  undoubtedly  done  his 


v  The  Sultan  and  the  Sublime  Porte .  91 

“  So  far  as  we  can  judge,  the  Sultan  is  a  sincere 
and  honest  Mohammedan,  and  regards  himself  as  a 


H.  I.  M.  ABD-UL-HAMID  KHAN,  THE  SULTAN  OF  TURKEY. 


92 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


best  to  reconcile  the  interests  of  the  Caliphate  with 
those  of  the  Empire. 

“  In  one  particular  it  [the  policy  of  the  Sultan]  is 
condemned  by  most  enlightened  Mohammedans  as 
strongly  as  by  Christians.  His  attempt  to  concen¬ 
trate  the  whole  administration  of  the  Empire  in  his 
own  hands  has  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  dual 
government — that  of  the  Palace  and  the  Porte.  The 
whole  machinery  of  a  government  exists  at  the  Porte. 
There  are  Ministers  and  fully  organized  departments. 
There  is  a  Council  of  Ministers  and  a  Council  of 
State.  All  business  is  supposed  to  pass  through 
their  hands,  and  the  whole  administration  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  subordinate  to  them.  All  is,  of  course, 
subject  to  the  supreme  will  of  the  Sultan,  but  his 
official  advisers  and  his  official  agents  are  at  the 
Porte. 

“  In  fact,  however,  there  is  another  government  at 
the  Palace  of  Yildiz,  more  powerful  than  the  official 
government,  made  up  of  chamberlains,  mollahs, 
eunuchs,  astrologers,  and  nondescripts,  and  supported 
by  the  secret  police,  which  spares  no  one  from  the 
Grand  Vizier  down.  The  general  policy  of  the  Empire 
is  determined  by  this  government,  and  the  most  im¬ 
portant  questions  of  state  are  often  treated  and 
decided,  while  the  highest  officials  of  the  Porte  are 
left  in  absolute  ignorance  of  what  is  going  on.  It  is 
needless  to  add  that  the  Porte  and  the  Palace  are  at 
sword’s-point,  and  block  each  other’s  movements  as 
far  as  they  can.  .  .  . 

“  The  Sultan  evidently  believes  that  he  is  equally 
independent  of  both  these  governments,  and  decides 


The  Sultan  and  the  Sublime  Porte .  93 

all  questions,  great  and  small,  for  himself.  In  form 
he  does  so,  but  no  man  can  act  independently  of  all 
his  sources  of  information,  and  of  the  personal  influ¬ 
ence  of  his  entourage.  Under  the  present  system  he 
makes  himself  responsible  for  every  blunder  and 
every  iniquity  committed  in  the  Empire,  but  he  has 
disgraced  three  distinguished  Grand  Viziers  for  tell¬ 
ing  him  so,  and  seems  to  have  no  idea  of  the  causes 
of  the  intense  dissatisfaction  with  his  government 
which  prevails  among  his  Mohammedan  subjects. 
The  Turks,  as  well  as  the  Christians,  also  condemn 
the  laws  restricting  personal  freedom,  which  have 
increased  in  severity  every  year.  In  many  ways 
these  laws  are  more  galling  to  the  Turks  than  the 
Christians. 

“  There  is  another  evil  connected  with  this  system 
which  may  lead  to  serious  difficulties  with  foreign 
Powers.  All  foreign  relations  are  supposed  to  be 
managed  through  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  or 
the  Grand  Vizier,  but  these  officials  have  no  power 
and  but  little  influence.  They  can  promise  nothing 
and  do  nothing.  But  in  all  delicate  diplomatic  ques¬ 
tions  it  is  essential  to  treat  with  responsible  agents, 
and  to  discuss  them  with  such  agents  in  a  way  in 
which  it  is  impossible  to  treat  with  the  Sovereign 
himself.  The  present  system  has  been  a  serious  injury 
to  Turkey.  It  has  roused  the  hostility  of  all  the 
Embassies  and  led  them  to  feel  and  report  to  their 
governments,  that  there  is  no  use  in  trying  to  do  any¬ 
thing  to  save  this  Empire  ;  that  it  is  hopelessly  cor¬ 
rupt,  and  the  sooner  it  comes  to  an  end  the  better 
for  the  world.  There  is  no  longer  any  concerted 


94 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


action  of  Europe  at  Constantinople  for  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  condition  of  the  people. 

“  If  Sultan  Abd-ul-Hamid  would  come  out  of  his 
palace,  restore  to  the  Porte  its  full  responsibility, 
disband  its  secret  police,  trust  his  Mohammedan  sub¬ 
jects,  and  do  simple  justice  to  the  Christians,  his  life 
would  be  far  more  secure  than  it  is  to-day,  with  all 
precautions  ;  his  people  and  all  the  world  would 
recognize  the  great  and  noble  qualities  which  they 
now  ignore,  and  welcome  him  as  the  wisest  and  best 
of  all  the  Sultans. 

“  The  sad  pity  of  it  is  that  he  will  never  do  it.  It 
is  too  late.  .The  influence  of  the  Palace  favorites  is 
too  strong.  He  will  appear  in  history  not  as  the 
Sultan  who  saved  the  Empire,  but  as  the  one  who 
might  have  saved  it  and  did  not.” 


I 


CHAPTER  VII. 


PREVIOUS  ACTS  OF  THE  TURKISH  TRAGEDY. 

IN  this  chapter1  I  shall  take  no  account  of  events 
that  have  taken  place  in  legitimate  warfare, 
where  the  slain  were  foreign  enemies  or  rebel¬ 
lious  subjects  of  the  Sultan,  resisting  with  arms  in' 
their  hands  after  being  ordered  to  submit.  The  “  in¬ 
surgents  ” — as  the  Porte  has  called  them — in  all  these 
cases  have  consisted  of  men,  women,  children,  and 
infants,  and  in  each  case,  by  a  curious  coincidence, 
have  been  non-Mohammedan. 

In  all  of  these  massacres,  Turkish  military  or  civil 
officers  presided  and  directed  the  bloody  work,  as  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  authorities  mentioned. 
There  have  been  many  other  massacres  of  less  than 
ten  thousand  during  the  intervals,  which,  to  use  the 
language  of  Beder  Khan  in  Mosul  (see  Layard’s 
Ni?ieveh)}  have  confirmed  the  whole  Turkish  princi¬ 
ple,  that  “  the  Armenians  were  becoming  too  numer¬ 
ous,  and  needed  diminishing.” 

1  Parts  of  this  chapter  are  taken  from  an  article,  “  Notes  on  the 
Armenian  Massacre,”  in  The  Independent ,  New  York,  January  31, 
1895,  by  a  high  authority,  who  is  compelled  to  sign  himself  “A 
Student  of  Modern  History.” 


95 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


This  item  of  Turkey’s  account,  for  the  past 
seventy-five  years  only,  stands  about  as  follows : 


DEFENSELESS  CHRISTIAN  SUBJECTS  MASSACRED  IN 
TURKEY  1820  TO  1896. 


1822.  Greeks,  especially  in  Scio  (Chios)  .  50,000' 

1850.  Nestorians  and  Armenians,  Kur¬ 
distan  ......  io,ooo1 2 3 4 5 

i860.  Maronites  and  Syrians,  Lebanon  and 

Damascus  .....  11,000 

1876.  Bulgarians,  Bulgaria  .  .  .  10,000* 

1894-1895.  Armenians,  Asiatic  Turkey  .  40,000'’ 


Total . 121,000 


The  above  figures  indicate  the  extent  of  the 
massacres  mentioned.  The  following  extracts  reveal 
the  occasion  and  manner  in  which  they  were  carried 
out. 

The  first  extract  is  in  regard  to  the  Greeks,  and  is 
a  translation,  by  Mr.  Robert  Stein,  from  the  French : 

“  The  blow  had  been  long  premeditated.  Sultan 
Mahmoud  was  in  the  habit  of  replying  to  every  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  Greek  insurgents  by  ordering  massacres, 


1  Latham,  Russian  and  Ttirk,  p.  417.  London  :  W.  H.  Allen, 
1878. 

2  Layard’s  Nineveh. 

3  Colonel  Churchill,  Druses  and  Maronites ,  p.  219.  London: 
Quaritch,  1862. 

4  Eugene  Schuyler  and  Correspondent  MacGahan,  quoted  in  The 
Independent ,  January  10,  1895. 

5  Chapter  I.  of  this  book. 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy .  97 

violations,  and  enslavement  in  regions  without  de¬ 
fense,  where  there  were  none  but  women,  children, 
and  inoffensive  merchants.  After  the  first  exploit  of 
Kanaris,  the  quiet  commercial  town  of  Cydonia  had 
promptly  been  burnt.  The  Turkish  admiral  was 
beaten  at  Samos  ;  for  that  reason  thirty  days  were 
spent  in  Cyprus  in  cutting  off  heads.  The  town  of 
Tripolitza,  in  the  Morea,  having  been  taken  by  the 
Palikares,  the  inhabitants  of  Cassandra,  in  Thrace, 
were  given  up  to  bands  of  Arnauts.  The  Sultan 
wished  to  take  new  reprisals  to  terrify  the  rayas 
[Christian  subjects],  and  to  cause  the  nations  of 
Europe  to  reflect.  He  took  care  not  to  fix  his  choice 
on  Crete,  where  his  nizams  would  have  been  received 
with  gunshots.  Chios  was  an  easy  prey,  and  sus¬ 
pected  nothing,  having  always  lived  on  good  terms 
with  the  Porte,  and  having  even  refused  to  take  part 
in  the  insurrection  of  Hellas  and  the  islands.  The 
Chiotes  had  always  been  the  gentlest,  the  most 
docile,  the  most  timid  of  all  the  rayas.  The  secret 
societies  which  endeavored  to  rouse  the  Greek  people 
had  not  even  deigned  to  initiate  these  islanders  in 
their  projects  of  national  resurrection.  On  the  8th  of 
May,  1 82  r ,  the  intrepid  Tombasis,  with  fifteen  brigs 
from  Hydra  and  ten  schooners  from  Psara,  had  ap¬ 
peared  before  the  island,  and  his  patriotic  advances 
having  been  ill  received,  he  had  retired.  The  in¬ 
habitants  of  Chios,  in  order  to  give  new  guaranties 
of  submission,  had  sent  to  the  Turks  large  amounts 
of  money,  numerous  hostages,  and  all  their  arms; 
even  the  little  knives  with  which  they  cut  their  bread 
had  been  taken  from  them. 


98 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


“At  this  moment,  on  Easter  Day,  1822,  the  Capi- 
tan-Pasha  anchored  in  the  harbor,  with  seven  ships 
and  eight  frigates.  Inasmuch  as  many  of  the  people, 
frightened  by  the  sight  of  this  fleet,  had  fled  to  the 
mountains,  they  were  made  to  come  down  by  promises 
of  safety,  and  by  sending  to  them  some  consuls,  who 
were  simple  enough  to  lend  themselves  in  good  faith 
to  this  ignoble  fraud.  The  Turkish  admiral  brou  ght 
his  executioners  with  him  ;  bashi-bazouks  from 
Rumelia,  Zeibeks  and  Yuruks  from  Asia  Minor,  the 
most  ferocious  and  cowardly  to  be  found  in  the 
empire.  The  adventurers  had  come  in  great  num¬ 
bers,  eager  for  their  prey,  attracted  by  this  country, 
so  rich  in  harvests,  in  gold  coins,  and  in  women.  On 
the  day  fixed  for  this  surprise  all  this  rabble  was 
crowded  into  boats,  with  pistols  and  knives,  and  the 
carnage  began.  Whole  regiments  courageously  be¬ 
sieged  villages  containing  three  hundred  souls.  For 
many  of  them,  this  slaughter  was  a  great  joke,  a 
gigantic  bakshish.  They  slashed  and  burned  all  day  ; 
in  the  evening  they  reckoned  up  the  price  of  the 
slaves,  the  sheep,  the  goats,  all  huddled  together 
pell-mell  in  the  profaned  churches.  The  children  and 
the  women  escaped  death  ;  their  youth  and  beauty 
saved  them  from  the  massacre,  to  deliver  them  over 
at  once  to  outrageous  assaults  or  to  reserve  them  for 
the  shameful  fate  of  the  harem.  They  were  led  off 
in  long  troops  ;  they  were  put  on  the  market  and  sold 
in  the  bazaars  of  Smyrna,  Constantinople,  and  Brussa. 
Whatever  resisted  was  killed  without  mercy.  At 
Mesta,  a  young  girl  cried  and  struggled  against  an 
Arnaut ;  the  madman  seized  her  loosened  hair, 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy.  99 

turned  back  the  collar,  and  with  a  cut  of  his  sabre 
severed  the  pretty  head.  The  person  who  described 
this  scene  to  me  saw  it  with  his  own  eyes.”  1 

In  regard  to  the  massacre  of  Nestorians  in  1850, 
Layard  states  that  after  9000  had  been  massacred, 
“  1000  men,  women,  and  children  concealed  them¬ 
selves  in  a  mountain  fastness.  Beder  Khan  Beg,  an 
officer  of  rank  in  the  employment  of  the  Sultan,  un¬ 
able  to  get  at  them,  surrounded  the  place,  and 
waited  until  they  should  be  compelled  to  yield  by 
thirst  and  hunger.  Then  he  offered  to  spare  their 
lives  on  the  surrender  of  their  arms  and  property, 
terms  ratified  by  an  oath  on  the  Koran.  The  Kurds 
were  then  admitted  to  the  platform.  After  they 
had  disarmed  their  prisoners  they  commenced  an  in¬ 
discriminate  slaughter,  until,  weary  of  using  their 
weapons,  they  hurled  the  few  survivors  from  the 
rocks  into  the  river  Zab  below.  Out  of  nearly  1000 
only  one  escaped.”  2 

In  regard  to  the  massacre  of  Maronites  and  Syri¬ 
ans  in  i860,  the  anonymous  authority  in  The  Inde¬ 
pendent  goes  on  to  say  : 

“After  the  massacre  of  June  and  July,  i860,  in 
Lebanon  and  Damascus,  under  the  direction  of 
Tahir  Pasha  in  Deir  el  Komr,  Osman  Beg  in  Has- 
beiya,  Kurshid  Pasha  in  Lebanon,  and  Ahmed  Pasha 
in  Damascus,  a  conference  was  held  in  Paris,  August 
3d,  by  the  representatives  of  Great  Britain,  Austria, 
France,  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Turkey.  As  11,000 

1  M.  Gaston  Deschamps  :  “  En  Turquie — LI’le  de  Chio,”  Revue 
des  Deux  Rfondes,  p.  167,  January  1,  1893. 

2  Layard’s  Nineveh ,  pp.  24-201. 

7 


TOO 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Christians  had  been  massacred,  the  European  rep¬ 
resentatives  called  the  attention  of  the  Sultan  to  his 
promise  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  March  30,  1856, 
‘that  serious  administrative  measures  should  be 
taken  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  Christian 
population  of  every  sect  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.7 
.  .  .  And  then,  in  the  presence  and  with  the  con¬ 

sent  of  the  five  aforesaid  Christian  representatives, 
assembled  together  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking 
measures  to  stop  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood  in 
Syria,  caused  by  the  wicked  and  wilful  collusion  of 
the  Sultan’s  authorities,  the  following  insult  to  the 
common  sense,  the  feelings,  and  judgment  of  Chris¬ 
tian  Europe  was  deliberately  penned  :  ‘  The  Pleni¬ 
potentiary  of  the  Sublime  Porte  takes  note  of  this 
declaration  of  the  representatives  of  the  high  con¬ 
tracting  Powers,  and  undertakes  to  transmit  it  to  his 
court,  pointing  out  that  the  Sublime  Porte  has  em¬ 
ployed,  and  continues  to  employ ,  her  efforts  in  the  sense 
of  the  wish  expressed  above  !  ’  ”  (Churchill,  pp.  220, 
221.) 

Colonel  Churchill  further  says  (p.  222): 

“  Nejib  Pasha,  who  was  installed  Governor  of  the 
Pashalick  of  Damascus  on  the  restoration  of  Syria  to 
the  Sultan  in  1840,  declared  to  a  confidential  agent 
of  the  British  Consul  in  that  city,  not  knowing,  how¬ 
ever,  the  character  of  the  person  he  was  addressing, 
‘the  Turkish  Government  can  only  maintain  its 
supremacy  in  Syria  by  cutting  down  the  Christian 
sects.’  What  Nejib  Pasha  enounced  as  a  theory, 
Kurshid  Pasha,  after  an  interval  of  twenty  years, 
succeeded  in  carrying  into  practice.” 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy,  ioi 

✓ 

The  writer  in  The  Independent  adds  : 

“  Thus  we  have  Nejib  Pasha  in  1840,  Beder  Khan 
in  1850,  Kurshid  Pasha  in  i860,  Chefket  Pasha  in 
1876,  and  Zekki  Pasha  in  1894,  concurring  in  this 
noble  and  philanthropic  scheme  for  relieving  the 
Turkish  Empire  of  its  surplus  Christian  population  !  ” 
The  following  facts  relate  to  the  terrible  atrocities 
perpetrated  in  Bulgaria  by  Turkish  bashi-bazouks  in 
the  spring  of  1876.  I  quote  verbatim  from  the  pre¬ 
liminary  report 1  of  the  Hon.  Eugene  Schuyler,  Amer¬ 
ican  Consul-General,  to  the  Hon.  Horace  Maynard, 
the  American  Minister,  at  Constantinople  : 

“  Philippopolis,  August  10,  1876. 

“  SIR: — In  reference  to  the  atrocities  and  massacres 
committed  by  the  Turks  in  Bulgaria,  I  have  the 
honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have  visited  the  towns 
of  Adrianople,  Philippopolis,  and  Tatar-Bazardjik, 
and  villages  in  the  surrounding  districts.  From 
what  I  have  personally  seen,  and  from  the  inquiries 
I  have  made,  and  the  information  I  have  received,  I 
have  ascertained  the  following  facts  :  .  .  . 

“  The  insurgent  villages  made  little  or  no  resist¬ 
ance.  In  many  instances  they  surrendered  their 
arms  upon  the  first  demand.  Nearly  all  the  villages 
which  were  attacked  by  the  bashi-bazouks  were 
burned  and  pillaged,  as  were  also  all  those  which 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  terrified  inhabitants. 
The  inhabitants  of  some  villages  were  massacred 
after  exhibitions  of  the  most  ferocious  cruelty,  and 
the  violation  not  only  of  women  and  girls,  but  even 
of  persons  of  the  other  sex.  These  crimes  were 
1  Article  by  Mr.  Savage,  The  Independent ,  January  io,  1894. 


102 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


committed  by  the  regular  troops  as  well  as  by  the 
basJii-bazonks  [irregulars].  The  number  of  villages 
*  which  were  burned  in  whole  or  in  part  in  the  districts 
of  Philippopolis,  Roptchus,  and  Tatar-Bazardjik  is  at 
least  sixty-five. 

“  Particular  attention  was  given  by  the  troops  to 
the  churches  and  schools,  which  in  some  cases  were 
destroyed  with  petroleum  and  gunpowder. 

“  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  number  of  Bul¬ 
garians  who  were  killed  during  the  few  days  that 
the  disturbances  lasted  ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  put 
15,000  as  the  lowest  for  the  districts  I  have  named. 
.  .  .  This  village  surrendered,  without  firing  a 

shot,  after  a  promise  of  safety,  to  the  bashi-bazouks , 
under  command  of  Ahmed  Aga,  a  chief  of  the  rural 
police.  Despite  his  promise,  the  arms  once  sur¬ 
rendered,  Ahmed  Aga  ordered  the  destruction  of 
the  village  and  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  the 
inhabitants,  about  a  hundred  young  girls  being  re¬ 
served  to  satisfy  the  lust  of  the  conqueror  before 
they  too  should  be  killed.  Not  a  house  is  now 
standing  in  this  lovely  valley.  Of  the  8000  inhabi¬ 
tants  not  2000  are  known  to  survive. 

“  Ahmed  Aga,  who  commanded  the  massacre,  has 
since  been  decorated  and  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
yuz  bashi  [centurian]. 

“These  atrocities  were  clearly  unnecessary  for  the 
suppression  of  the  insurrection,  for  it  was  an  insig¬ 
nificant  rebellion  at  the  best,  and  the  villagers  gen¬ 
erally  surrendered  at  the  first  summons. 

“  I  am,  sir,  yours  very  truly, 

“  Eugene  Schuyler, 

“The  Hon.  Horace  Maynard,  etc,” 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy .  103 

“  The  British  Government  had  glossed  over  and 
tried  to  cover  up  these  horrible  transactions,  Premier 
Disraeli  turning  them  off  with  a  sneer.  The  facts,  as 
unearthed  by  Consul  Schuyler,  shook  the  British 
nation  like  an  earthquake,  and  came  near  unseating 
the  Ministry.  .  .  . 

“  A  similar  investigation  was  made  in  the  same  dis¬ 
trict  by  Mr.  J.  A.  MacGahan,  the  brilliant  correspond¬ 
ent  of  the  London  Daily  News ,  who  confirms  all 
that  Mr.  Schuyler  discovered,  in  a  special  despatch 
to  the  Daily  News ,  dated  Philippopolis,  July  28, 
1876.” 

The  circumstances  and  character  of  the  Armenian 
massacre  of  1894  are  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
present  volume.  In  regard  to  this  event  the  writer 
in  The  Independent  of  January  17th  above  quoted 
asks : 

“  Will  history  repeat  itself  in  1895  ?  Will  the 
remaining  Armenians  of  Sassoun  be  so  terrorized  as 
to  refuse  to  testify  before  a  Commission?  Un¬ 
doubtedly. 

“  If  the  facts  already  known  do  not  force  Europe  to 
place  Eastern  Asia  Minor  under  a  Christian  Viceroy 
there  is  little  hope  that  any  new  facts  will  influence 
them.  The  dead  tell  no  tales.  The  living  fear  to 
speak,  lest  they  fall  victims  to  the  humane  theories 
of  Beder  Khan  and  Nejib  Pasha. 

“  Will  England  now  insist  upon  the  protection  of 
the  Christian?  She  is  morally  bound  to.  Four 
times  has  she  saved  the  Ottoman  Empire  from  de¬ 
struction,  and  the  civilized  world  looks  to  her  for  a 
fulfilment  of  her  high  mission  in  the  East, 


104 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


“  May  British  public  opinion  compel  British  public 
men  to  action  !  ” 

To  make  this  chapter  a  little  more  complete  for 
reference,  I  add  a  passing  allusion  to  three  other 
outrages  not  included  in  the  above  list,  which  takes 
account  of  no  massacres  of  less  than  ten  thousand 
victims  at  once. 

OUTRAGES  IN  CRETE  IN  1866-7. 

On  July  21,  1867,  the  British,  Russian,  French,  and 
Italian  Consuls  at  Canea,  Crete,  sent  the  following 
identical  telegram  to  their  several  governments : 
“  Massacres  of  women  and  children  have  broken  out 
in  the  interior  of  the  island.  The  authorities  can 
neither  put  down  the  insurrection  nor  stay  the 
course  of  these  atrocities.  Humanity  would  impera¬ 
tively  demand  the  immediate  suspension  of  hostili¬ 
ties,  or  the  transportation  to  Greece  of  the  women 
and  children.” 

The  number  of  relieving  ships  sent  to  Crete  in 
obedience  to  this  accord  was  four  French,  three 
Russian,  two  Italian,  three  Austrian,  and  one®  Prus¬ 
sian.1 

OUTRAGES  IN  ARMENIA  IN  1 87 7. 

The  writer  is  C.  B.  Norman,  special  correspondent 
of  The  London  Times,  who  says  in  his  preface  : 

“  In  my  correspondence  to  the  Times  I  made  it 
a  rule  to  report  nothing  but  what  came  under 
my  own  personal  observation,  or  facts  confirmed  by 
European  evidence. 

1  U.  S.  Consul  Stillman’s  The  Cretan  Jnsiirrection  of  1866-7-8, 
Henry  Holt  Co.f  1874. 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy .  105 

“A  complete  list  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  obtain, 
but  from  all  sides — from  Turk  and  Armenian  alike — 


A  HIGHWAY  IN  ARMENIA. 


I  hear  piteous  tales  of  the  desolation  that  reigns 
throughout  Kurdistan  —  villages  deserted,  towns 
abandoned,  trade  at  a  standstill,  harvest  ready  for 
the  sickle,  but  none  to  gather  it  in,  husbands  mourn¬ 
ing  their  dishonored  wives,  parents  their  murdered 
children  ;  and  this  is  not  the  work  of  a  power  whose 
policy  of  selfish  aggression  no  man  can  defend,  but 
the  ghastly  acts  of  Turkey’s  irregular  soldiery  on 
Turkey’s  most  peaceable  inhabitants, — acts  the  per¬ 
petrators  of  which  are  well  known,  and  yet  are 
allowed  to  go  unpunished. 

“  A  bare  recital  of  the  horrors  committed  by  these 
demons  is  sufficient  to  call  for  their  condign  punish- 


io6 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


ment.  The  subject  is  too  painful  to  need  any  color¬ 
ing,  were  my  feeble  pen  enabled  to  give  it.” 

A  few,  out  of  many  cases  reported  by  Mr.  Norman 
are  given  : 

“This  gang  also  attacked  the  village  of  Kordjotz, 
violating  the  women,  and  sending  off  all  the  virgins 
to  their  hills ;  entering  the  church  they  burned  the 
Bible  and  sacred  pictures;  placing  the  communion- 
cup  on  the  altar,  they  in  turn  defiled  it,  and  divided 
the  church  plate  amongst  themselves.  . 

“  Sheik  Obaidulah’s  men  rivalled  their  comrades 
under  the  flag  of  Jelaludeen;  these  latter  operated 
between  Van  and  Faik  Pasha’s  camp.  They  at¬ 
tacked  and  robbed  the  villages  of  Shakbabgi  and 
Adnagantz,  carrying  off  all  boys  and  virgins.  At 
Kushartz  they  did  the  same,  and  killing  500  sheep, 
left  them  to  rot  in  the  streets,  and  then  fired  the 
place.  Khosp,  Jarashin,  and  Asdvadsadsan,  Bog- 
hatz,  and  Aregh  suffered  in  like  manner ;  the 
churches  were  despoiled  and  desecrated,  graves  dug 
up,  young  of  both  sexes  carried  off,  what  grain  they 
could  not  transport  was  destroyed,  and  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  driven  naked  into  the  fields,  to  gaze  with  horror 
on  their  burning  homesteads.”1 

THE  MASSACRE  OF  THE  YEZIDIS  NEAR  MOSUL,  1892. 

“  The  Y ezidis  are  a  remnant  of  a  heathen  sect,  who 
have  never  been  converted  to  the  Moslem  faith. 

“  Their  holy  place  is  not  far  from  the  city  of  Mo- 

1  C.  B.  Norman,  Armenia  and  the  Campaign  of  1877,  pp.  293- 
298.  London:  Cassell,  Fetter,  &  Galpin,  1879. 


Previous  Acts  of  the  Ttirkish  Tragedy.  107 


sul,  one  day’s  journey,  and  their  principal  villages 
are  also  close  by.  In-the  summer  of  1892  the  Sultan 
sent  a  special  officer,  called  Ferik  Pasha,  to  Mosul  to 
correct  certain  abuses  in  the  government,  to  collect 
all  back  taxes,  and  to  convert  the  Yezidis.  His 
authority  was  absolute,  the  Vali  Pasha  of  the  city 
being  subject  to  his  orders. 

“  In  reference  to  his  work  among  the  Yezidis,  he,  it 
was  generally  reported,  was  to  get  a  certain  sum  per 
capita  for  every  convert  made. 

“  He  first  sent  priests  among  them  to  convert  them 
to  the  “true  faith.”  They  not  succeeding,  he  very 
soon  gave  them  the  old  alternative  of  the  Koran  or 
the  sword.  Still  not  submitting,  he  sent  his  soldiers, 
under  command  of  his  son,  who  put  to  the  sword  all 
who,  not  able  to  escape,  refused  to  accept  Moham¬ 
med.  Their  villages  were  burned,  many  were 
killed  in  cold  blood,  some  were  tortured,  women 
and  young  girls  were  outraged  or  carried  off  to 
harems,  and  other  atrocities,  too  horrible  to  relate, 
were  perpetrated. 

“  Those  who  escaped  made  their  way  to  the  moun¬ 
tains  of  Sinjar,  where,  together  with  their  brethren 
of  the  mountains,  they  intrenched  themselves  and 
successfully  defended  themselves  until  the  spring  of 
1 893  against  the  government  troops  which  had  been 
sent  against  them. 

“This  massacre  was  reported  to  the  French  Gov¬ 
ernment  by  M.  Siouffi,  Consul  at  that  time  in  Mosul, 
and  to  the  English  Government  by  Mr.  Parry,  who 
was  in  that  region  under  the  instructions  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


io8 


The  Crisis  in  Tier  key. 


“The  Yezidis  who  remained  in  their  villages  on 
the  plain  had  Moslem  priests  set  over  them  to  in¬ 
struct  them  in  the  Moslem  faith.  They  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  attend  prayers  and  nominally  become 
Mohammedans  ;  but  in  secret  they  practised  their 
own  rites  and  declared  that  they  were  still  Yezidis.”  1 

After  the  massacre  of  the  Yezidi  peasants  in  1892 
an  English  lady  of  rank,  visiting  Mosul,  was  refused 
permission  by  the  Pasha  to  travel  through  the 
Yezidi  district,  lest  she  witness  the  dreadful  results 
of  the  massacre.2 

The  writer  in  The  Independent  of  January  31st, 
gives  this  explanation  : 

“  The  reason  of  the  recurrence  of  massacres  in 
Turkey  is  the  fanatical  intolerance  of  the  Moslem 
populace  and  their  hatred  to  Christianity,  unre¬ 
strained  and  often  fomented  by  Turkish  officials. 

“  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  the  ablest  and  best 
friend  Turkey  ever  had,  who  believed  that  ‘  England 
should  befriend  Turkey  in  order  to  reform  her,’ 
says : 3 

“  ‘  Turkey  is  weak,  fanatical,  and  misgoverned. 
The  Eastern  question  is  a  fact,  a  reality  of  indefinite 
duration.  Like  a  volcano  it  has  intervals  of  rest ; 
but  its  outbreaks  are  frequent,  their  occasions  un¬ 
certain,  and  their  effects  destructive  ’  (p.  6). 

“‘Did  not  the  massacres  in  Syria  in  i860  come 
upon  us  by  surprise?  .  .  .  Have  we  any  substantial 
security  against  the  recurrence  of  similar  horrors,  of 
a  similar  necessity,  and  of  a  similar  hazard?’  (p.  79). 

1  The  Independent,  January  17,  1895. 

1  Ibid.,  January  31,  1895. 


3  The  Easter 71  Question. 


Previous  Ads  of  the  Turkish  Tragedy.  109 

“‘The  position  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  is  one  of 
natural  determination  toward  a  state  of  exhaustive 
weakness  ’  (p.  97). 

“  ‘  Ill  fares  the  country  where  neither  strong  hand 
nor  willing  heart  is  to  be  found  ’  (p.  104). 

“  A  joint  Commission  is  now  en  route  to  investigate 
the  Sassoun  massacres.  Will  any  good  come  from  it  ? 
Doubtful.  Lord  Stratford  says  (p.  117)  : 

“  ‘  We  know  not  how  soon  or  where  the  kites  may 
be  again  collected  by  a  massacre  or  insurrection. 

Such  occasional  meetings  [of  Commis¬ 
sions]  have  their  portion  of  inconvenience  and  risk. 
Their  failure  is  discreditable  ;  the  effect  of  their  suc¬ 
cess,  at  best,  transient  and  partial.  The  evils  they 
are  meant  to  correct  are  themselves  the  offspring  of 
one  pervading  evil,  the  source  of  which  is  in  Con¬ 
stantinople.’ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ISLAM  AS  A  FACTOR  OF  THE  PROBLEM. 

IT  is  with  reluctance  that  I  approach  this  side  of 
the  question.  It  is  not  desirable  that  the  sub¬ 
ject  be  complicated  or  embittered  by  religious 
animosities.  But  unfortunately  these  animosities  do 
exist  and  have  always  formed  a  primary  and  essential 
feature  in  all  the  relations  of  the  Turks  with  their 
Christian  subjects.  A  writer  who  styles  himself 
“  Diplomatist,”  in  a  recent  review  article  of  consider¬ 
able  merit,1  with  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  disposes  of  this 
phase  of  the  subject  by  characterizing  it  as  “pure 
moonshine.”  But  real  diplomatists  do  not  find  it  so 
easy  to  dispose  of,  nor  do  the  great  historians  treat 
it  as  moonshine.  The  fanatical  gleam  that  I  have 
often  caught  in  the  eye  of  Turks  and  Kurds  was 
never  suggestive  to  me  of  the  mild  rays  of  the  lunar 
orb,  but  seemed  rather  like  a  gleam  from  the  political 
Crescent,  whose  baleful  influence  dominates  the  East. 

The  question  is  not  concerning  the  merits  of 
Mohammed  or  of  Mohammedanism  in  the  abstract. 

0 

I  have  a  profound  respect  for  the  Prophet  of  Arabia, 
who  might  have  been  another  Apostle  Paul,  but  for 
the  fact  that  the  corrupt  church  of  that  day  failed 

1  New  Review  for  January,  1895. 


no 


Islam  as  a  Factor  of  the  Problem .  1 1 1 

to  give  that  young  and  ardent  seeker  after  God  a  true 
and  worthy  conception  of  Christianity.  I  would  fain 
admit  the  high  conception  of  the  Mohammedan  ideal, 
portrayed  so  skilfully  by  Mr.  R.  Bosworth  Smith  in 
his  lectures  before  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great 
Britain. 

But  such  considerations  are  irrelevant  to  the  present 
discussion,  which  is  simply,  What  are  the  practical 
bearings  of  Islam  upon  the  question  of  reform  or  of 
reconstruction  in  Turkey? 

As  has  been  already  shown  in  Chapter  VI.,  the 
Ottoman  Government  is  a  politico-religious  system. 
This  is  the  necessary  constitution  of  any  Moham¬ 
medan  sovereign  state,  but  the  conception  has 
special  force  and  vitality  in  Turkey,  whose  Sovereign 
claims  to  be  the  successor  of  Mohammed,  and  thus 
the  Calif  of  the  Mohammedan  world.  The  whole 
fabric  of  the  Turkish  Empire  rests  on  a  religious 
foundation.  This  religious  foundation  is  not  the 
general  religious  principle  in  man,  but  the  particular 
form  of  religion  established  by  Mohammed. 

To  what  extent ,  now,  does  Islam  enter  into  the 
political  structure?  We  find  on  investigation  that 
it  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the 
organism  in  Turkey  called  the  State, — called  so  by 
courtesy  on  account  of  its  faint  analogy  to  what  is 
understood  in  other  countries  by  that  name.  The 
Turkish  army  is  exclusively  a  Mohammedan  army, 
the  national  festivals  are  Mohammedan  festivals,  the 
official  calendar  is  a  Mohammedan  calendar,  both  as 
to  year  and  month,  the  laws  are  based  on  the  Koran 
and  Mohammedan  tradition,  the  expounders  of  the 


112 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


law  are  Mohammedan  judges,  and  even  testimony  is 
a  religious  act  of  which  only  true  believers  are,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  capable.  It  is  not  denied  that 
the  testimony  of  Christians  is  allowed  to  be  given 
in  Turkish  courts,  but  that  does  not  signify  that  it  is 
valid  evidence  in  the  eyes  of  the  Court,  especially 
when  a  Mohammedan  is  involved.  Even  the  differ¬ 
ent  formulae  used  show  this.  In  the  case  of  a 
Mohammedan  it  is,  “  His  Lordship,  So  and  So,  testi¬ 
fied  to  the  face  of  God  in  the  case  of  a  Christian 
it  is,  “  Mr.  Blank  stated.” 

In  Article  63  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  we  read 
Turkey’s  solemn  (it  is  hard  to  suppress  a  smile) 
promise  to  the  European  Powers  in  regard  to  the 
rights  of  Christians  before  the  law:  “ All  shall  be 
allozved  to  give  evidenee  before  the  courts  without  dis¬ 
tinctions  of  creed!'  The  practical  application  of  the 
above  clause  is  shown  in  the  official  reports  of 
British  Consuls.1 

Mr.  Wilson,  Consul-General  in  Anatolia,  writes: 

“  In  the  greater  portion  of  Anatolia,  though  Chris¬ 
tian  evidence  may  be  received,  no  weight  is  attached 
to  it.  When  Moslem  and  Christian  evidence  are  op¬ 
posed  to  each  other,  the  latter  is  disregarded.  For 
instance,  three  Christians  are  travelling  along  a  road, 
and  one  of  them  is  robbed  by  a  man  well  known  to 
all  of  them  ;  in  the  action  which  ensues,  the  robber 
has  only  to  prove  an  alibi  by  two  Moslem  false  wit¬ 
nesses  to  gain  his  case.” 

1  These  extracts  are  from  Blue-Book ,  Turkey,  No.  8  (1881),  pp.  57- 
no,  as  quoted  by  the  high  authority,  M.  Rolin-Jaequemyns,  in  his 
Armenia ,  the  Armenians ,  and  the  Treaties ,  pp.  74-76.  London  : 
John  I  ley  wood,  1891. 


Islam  as  a  Factor  of  the  Problem.  1 1 3 

Mr.  Chermside,  Vice-Consul  at  Sivas,  writes: 

“As  regards  the  acceptance  of  Christian  testimony, 
theoretically  is  it  accepted  in  all  Nizam  courts. 
Hearing  testimony,  however,  and  attaching  the  rela¬ 
tive  importance  to  it  that,  from  its  tenor  and  con¬ 
sistency,  it  is  entitled  to,  are  very  different  matters;  - 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that,  especially  in  civil  cases, 
tradition,  sympathy,  and  education  prejudice  the 
Hakint  against  it — sentimental  considerations,  how¬ 
ever,  are  not  proof  against  the  love  of  gain.” 

According  to  the  latter  part  of  this  quotation,  the 
spirit  which  animates  the  courts  of  Asia  Minor  may 
be  defined  as  fanaticism  tempered  by  corruption. 
The  following  is  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Everett,  Vice- 
Consul  at  Erzerum  :  “  The  first  consideration  of  the 
administrators  of  justice  is  the  amount  of  money 
that  can  be  extorted  from  an  individual,  and  the  sec¬ 
ond  is  his  creed.”  The  only  doubt  as  to  the  morality 
of  the  Turkish  magistrates  appears  to  be  whether 
they  are  more  corrupt  than  fanatical,  or  more  fanati¬ 
cal  than  corrupt. 

The  injustice  done  to  Christians  even  in  commer¬ 
cial  transactions  is  shown  by  Mr.  Bilotti,  Consul  at 
Trebizond : 

“  Christian  evidence  is  accepted  in  the  town  of 
Trebizond,  but  I  am  assured  in  the  districts,  that 
though  the  same  principle  is  admitted,  no  Mussul¬ 
man  has  ever  been  condemned  on  the  testimony  of 
Christians ;  so  much  so,  that  the  latter  are  in  the 

1  The  Hakim ,  who  is  a  member  of  the  religious  body  of  Ulemas , 
presides  over  the  lower  court  (Bidayet),  which  is  to  be  found  in  every 

caza  (hundred),  and  also  over  the  Sandjak  or  district  court. 

8 


ii4  The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 

habit  of  having  their  bonds  witnessed  only  by 
Mussulmans.” 

Much  is  said  in  regard  to  the  truthfulness  of  the 
Turks.  Consul-General  Wilson  writes:  “From  the 
peculiar  value  of  Moslem  evidence,  most  of  the  false 
witnesses  are  Turks.” 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  thus  see  that  the  millions 
of  Christians  in  Turkey  neither  are  nor  can  be  con¬ 
sidered  and  treated  as  citizens  of  the  state,  simply 
because  they  do  not  belong  to  the  religion  of  the 
foreign  invaders  who  rule  them.  No  degree  of 
loyalty  can  secure  for  non-Moslems  admission  to  the 
army.  Christians  are  rapidly  being  excluded  from 
even  the  humblest  positions  in  the  civil  lists  also, 
except  from  such  as  Mohammedans  are  incompetent 
to  fill.  The  status  of  the  Christian  before  the  law  is 
that-of  an  alien  in  regard  to  his  own  rights,  and  of  a 
slave  as  far  as  the  interests  of  Mohammedans  are 
concerned. 

And  yet  we  are  told  that  the  Ottoman  Turks  are 
tolerant  of  the  members  of  other  faiths.  This  is  true 
in  the  same  sense  that  the  stomach  is  spoken  of  as 
being  “  tolerant  ”  of  certain  easily  digestible  articles 
of  food.  Yes,  so  long  as  Christians  submit  to  all 
forms  of  oppression,  and  make  no  claims  in  regard 
to  rights  which  are  generally  supposed  to  belong  to 
all  men,  they  are  gladly  tolerated. 

That  the  discrimination  against  Christian  subjects 
is  due  to  their  religious  belief,  is,  further,  clearly 
shown  by  the  fact  that  Mohammedans,  who  abandon 
the  creed  of  the  government,  immediately  forfeit 
their  special  privileges,  and  even  incur  punishment 


Islam  as  a  Factor  of  the  Problem.  1 15 

as  criminals.  Apostacy  from  Islam  is  treason  to  the 
Sultan.  Converts  to  Christianity  are  arrested  and 
imprisoned.  In  the  rare  instances  when  foreign  gov¬ 
ernments  venture  to  inquire  into  such  cases,  the 
Ottoman  authorities  blandly  insist  that  they  care 
nothing  for  the  man’s  religion,  but  that  he  must  be 
arrested  for  “avoiding  conscription,”  or  on  some 
other  fictitious  charge.  He  is,  thereupon,  hurried  off 
to  some  distant  military  post,  or  finds  a  living  grave 
in  an  unknown  dungeon. 

Such  is  the  politico-religious  organization  called 
the  Ottoman  Government.  Can  this  union  of  Church 
and  State  be  dissolved  ?  It  can  not  be.  The  bond 
which  unites  them,  according  to  Mohammedan  doc¬ 
tors,  is  vital,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Siamese  twins. 

Inasmuch  as  the  bond  cannot  be  cut,  the  only  re¬ 
maining  hope  must  be  in  improving  the  health  of 
the  two  bodies  thus  indissolubly  united.  Unfortu¬ 
nately,  no  change  can  be  hoped  for  in  the  case  of 
either  part  of  this  dual  patient.  Mohammedanism  at 
its  birth  was  a  malformation,  to  say  the  least,  and 
will  continue  so  even  though  restored  to  a  state  of 
perfect  health.  In  the  opinion  of  every  orthodox 
Mohammedan,  the  Koran  is  a  “  perfect  revelation  of 
the  will  of  God,  sufficient  and  final,”  and  “  Islam 
is  a  separate  distinct,  and  absolutely  exclusive 
religion.” 

As  attempts  are  frequently  made  to  convey  a  con¬ 
trary  impression  on  this  point,  I  quote  the  words  of 
President  George  Washburn,  of  Robert  College, 
Constantinople,  an  impartial  student  of  Islam,  who 
for  thirty-five  years  has  observed  its  practical  work- 


1 1 6  The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 

ings  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.  At  the  World’s  Par¬ 
liament  of  Religions,  in  Chicago,  1893,  he  read  a 
paper  on  “  The  Points  of  Contact  and  Contrast 
between  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism.”  His 
whole  treatment  is  remarkable  for  its  judicial  fair¬ 
ness,  and  his  paper  is  commended  to  the  reader 
who  may  desire  a  brief,  comprehensive,  and  fair 
estimate  of  Islam. 

To  the  question  whether  Mohammedanism  has 
been  in  any  way  modified,  since  the  time  of  the 
Prophet,  by  its  contact  with  Christianity,  Dr.  Wash¬ 
burn  thinks  that  every  orthodox  Moslem  would 
answer  in  the  negative.  He  adds  :  “  It  is  very  im¬ 
portant  to  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  nominal 
Mohammedans  who  are  theists,  and  others  who  are 
pantheists  of  the  Spinoza  type.  There  are  also 
some  small  sects  who  are  rationalists,  but  after  the 
fashion  of  old  English  Deism  rather  than  of  the 
modern  rationalism.  The  Deistic  rationalism  is 
represented  in  that  most  interesting  work  of  Justice 
Ameer  Ali,  The  Spirit  of  Islam.  He  speaks  of  Mo¬ 
hammed  as  Xenophon  did  of  Socrates,  and  he 
reveres  Christ  also,  but  he  denies  that  there  was 
anything  supernatural  in  the  inspiration  or  lives  of 
either,  and  claims  that  Hanife  and  the  other  Imams 
corrupted  Islam,  as  he  thinks  Paul  the  apostle  did 
Christianity;  but  this  book  does  not  represent  Mo¬ 
hammedanism,  any  more  than  Renan’s  Life  of  Jesus 
represents  Christianity.  These  small  rationalistic 
sects  are  looked  upon  by  all  orthodox  Moslems  as 
heretics  of  the  worst  description.” 

Although  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 


Islam  as  a  Factor  of  the  Problem.  1 1  7 

Testaments  happen  to  be  mentioned  one  hundred 
and  thirty-one  times  in  the  Koran,  they  are  only 
quoted  twice.  The  fundamental  doctrines  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  such  as  the  Incarnation,  the  Trinity,  the 
Atonement,  and  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  are 
specifically  repudiated  in  the  Koran. 

The  reform  of  Islam  as  a  system  is,  therefore,  not 
within  the  range  of  possibility.  How  about  the 
reform  of  the  Ottoman  Government  ?  On  this  point 
I  yield  the  floor  to  the  great  historian  E.  A.  Free¬ 
man,  who  will  close  the  debate  1  : 

“There  are  some  people  who  say  the  Turks  are 
no  doubt  very  bad,  but  that  the  Christians  are  just 
as  bad,  and  have  done  things  just  as  cruel.  Now,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  this  is  not  true  ;  and,  if  it  were  true, 
it  would  be  another  reason  for  setting  the  Christians 
free;  for  if  they  are  as  bad  as  the  Turk,  it  is  the 
Turk  who  has  caused  their  badness.  While  other 
nations  have  been  improving,  the  Turk  has  kept 
them  from  improving.  Take  away  the  Turk  who 
hinders  improvement,  and  they  will  improve  like  the 
others.  The  slave  never  has  the  virtues  of  a  free¬ 
man  ;  it  is  only  by  setting  him  free  that  he  can  get 
them. 

“  When  we  point  out  the  evils  of  the  rule  of  the 
Turk,  some  people  tell  us  that  Christian  rulers  in 
past  times  have  done  things  quite  as  bad  as  the 
Turks.  This  is  partly  true,  but  not  wholly.  No 
Christian  government  has  ever  gone  on  for  so  long  a 
time  ruling  as  badly  as  the  Turk  has  ruled.  But  it 
is  true  that  Christian  governments  have  in  past  times 

1  The  Turks  in  Europe. 


1 1 8  The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

done  particular  acts,  which  were  as  bad  as  the  acts 
of  the  Turks.  But  this  argument,  too,  cuts  the 
other  way  ;  for  Christian  governments  have  left  off 
doing  such  acts,  while  the  Turks  go  on  doing  them 
still.  The  worst  Christian  government  is  better  now 
than  it  was  one  hundred  years  ago,  or  five  hundred 
years  ago.  The  rule  of  the  Turk  is  worse  now  than 
it  was  one  hundred  years  ago,  or  five  hundred  years 
ago.  That  is  to  say,  the  worst  Christian  government 
can  reform,  while  the  Turk  cannot. 

“  It  is  sometimes  said  that  we  ought  not  to  set 
free  the  Christians  for  fear  that  they  should  do  some 
harm  to  the  Mohammedans  who  would  be  left  in 
their  land.  Now,  if  the  question  were  really  put, 
Shall  a  minority  of  oppressors  go  on  oppressing  the 
people  of  the  land,  or  shall  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  the  land  turn  round  and  oppress  the  minority 
who  have  hitherto  oppressed  them  ? — this  last  would 
surely  be  the  lesser  evil  of  the  two.  But  there  is  no 
ground  for  any  such  fear.  No  one  wishes  to  hurt 
any  Mohammedan  who  will  live  peaceably  and  not 
hurt  Christians.  No  one  wishes  that  any  man, 
merely  because  he  is  a  Mohammedan,  should  be  in 
any  way  worse  off  than  a  Christian,  or  be  put  under 
any  disability  as  compared  with  a  Christian.  There  is 
no  reason  why  he  should  be.  For  the  Mohammedan 
religion,  though  it  does  not  command  that  Christians 
shall  be  persecuted,  does  command  that  Christians 
shall  be  treated  as  subjects  of  Mohammedans.  But 
the  Christian  religion  in  no  way  commands  that 
Mohammedan  shall  be  treated  as  the  subject  of 
•Christian.  Christians  and  Mohammedans  cannot 


Islam  as  a  Factor  of  the  Problem .  1 19 

live  together  on  equal  terms  under  a  Mohammedan 
government,  because  the  Mohammedan  religion 
forbids  that  they  should  ;  but  Mohammedans 
and  Christians  may  perfectly  well  live  together 
under  a  Christian  government.  They  do  so  under 
the  governments  both  of  England  and  of  Russia. 
The  few  Mohammedans  who  are  left  in  Greece 
and  in  Servia  are  in  no  way  molested ;  there 
are  mosques  both  at  Chalkis  and  at  Belgrade.  But 
it  is  foolish  to  argue,  as  some  people  do,  that  because 
men  of  different  religions  can  live  together  under  a 
Christian  government,  therefore  they  can  live  to¬ 
gether  under  a  Mohammedan  government ;  for  both 
reason  and  the  nature  of  the  Mohammedan  religion 
prove  that  it  is  not  so.  .  .  . 

“  The  Turk  came  in  as  an  alien  and  barbarian  en¬ 
camped  on  the  soil  of  Europe.  At  the  end  of  five 
hundred  years,  he  remains  an  alien  and  barbarian 
encamped  on  soil  which  he  has  no  more  made  his 
own  than  it  was  when  he  first  took  Kallipolis.  His 
rule  during  all  that  time  has  been  the  rule  of 
strangers  over  enslaved  nations  in  their  own 
land.  It  has  been  the  rule  of  cruelty,  faith¬ 
lessness,  and  brutal  lust ;  it  has  not  been  govern¬ 
ment,  but  organized  brigandage.  His  rule  cannot 
be  reformed.  While  all  other  nations  get  better  and 
better,  t*he  Turk  gets  worse  and  worse.  And  when 
the  chief  powers  of  Europe  join  in  demanding  that 
he  should  make  even  the  smallest  reform,  he  impu¬ 
dently  refuses  to  make  any.  If  there  was  anything 
to  be  said  for  him  before  the  late  Conference,  there 
is  nothing  to  be  said  for  him  now.  For  an  evil 


I  20 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


which  cannot  be  reformed,  there  is  one  remedy  only 
—  to  get  rid  of  it.  Justice,  reason,  humanity,  de¬ 
mand  that  the  rule  of  the  Turk  in  Europe  should  be 
got  rid  of ;  and  the  time  for  getting  rid  of  it  has  now 
come.” 


ARMENIAN  REBELS  WHO  WOULD  NOT  PAY  TAXES. 

This  was  written  seventeen  years  ago  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  discontinuance  of  the  Ottoman  power  in 
Europe.  Does  it  not  now  apply  with  equal  force  to 
the  discontinuance  of  the  same  regime  in  Armenia? 


CHAPTER  IX. 


GLADSTONE  ON  THE  ARMENIAN  MASSACRE 
AND  ON  TURKISH  MISRULE. 

ON  the  eighty-fifth  anniversary  of  Mr.  W.  E. 
Gladstone’s  birth,  December  29,  1894,  a 
deputation  of  members  of  the  National 
Church  of  Armenia  presented  to  his  son,  the  Rev. 
Stephen  Gladstone,  rector  of  Hawarden,  a  silver  gilt 
chalice  for  the  use  of  the  church,  in  memory  of  the 
ex-Premier’s  sympathy  with  and  assistance  to  the 
Armenian  people.  On  that  occasion  Mr.  Gladstone 
made  a  long  and  eloquent  speech,  in  the  course  of 
which  —  after  thanking  the  deputation  for  their 
token  of  sympathy  and  their  grateful  references  to 
himself — he  said  : 

“  Well,  Mr.  Stevenson — I  address  myself  now  per¬ 
haps  more  particularly  to  you  and  to  my  own  coun¬ 
trymen,  to  any  of  them  who  will  take  notice  of  the 
deputation.  I  have  said  that  in  my  opinion  this 
manifestation  from  the  Armenian  community  in 
England  and  in  Paris  was,  on  my  part  at  least,  quite 
undeserved.  I  have  done  nothing  for  you  in  circum¬ 
stances  of  great  difficulty,  and  that,  let  me  assure 
you,  has  not  been  owing  to  indifference.  I  will  explain 
the  cause  in  very  few  words.  Rumors  went  abroad, 
growing  more  and  more  authenticated,  which  repre- 


121 


122 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


sented  a  state  of  horrible  and  indescribable  outrage 
in  Armenia.  The  impulse  of  every  man  in  circum¬ 
stances  of  that  kind  is  to  give  way  to  a  burst  of 
strong  feeling,  but  I  had  the  conviction  that  in  a 
grave  case  of  this  kind  every  nation  is  best  and  most 
properly  represented  by  its  government,  which  is  the 
organ  of  the  nation,  and  which  has  the  right  to  speak 
with  the  authority  of  the  nation. 

“  And  do  not  let  me  be  told  that  one  nation  has  no 
authority  over  another.  Every  nation,  and  if  need  be 
every  human  being,  has  authority  on  behalf  of  hu¬ 
manity  and  of  justice.  (Hear,  hear.)  These  are  prin¬ 
ciples  common  to  mankind,  and  the  violation  of  which 
may  justly,  at  the  proper  time,  open  the  mouths  of  the 
very  humblest  among  us.  But  in  such  cases  as  these 
we  must  endeavor  to  do  injustice  to  no  one,  and  the 
more  dreadful  the  allegations  may  be,  the  more 
strictly  it  is  our  duty  not  to  be  premature  in  assum¬ 
ing  their  truth,  but  to  wait  for  an  examination  of  the 
case,  and  to  see  that  what  we  say,  we  say  upon  a 
basis  of  ascertained  facts. 

“  Well,  gentlemen,  it  was,  my  fate — my  fortune, 
I  think — about  eighteen  years  ago  to  take  an  ac¬ 
tive  part  with  regard  to  other  outrages  which  first 
came  up  in  the  shape  of  rumor,  but  were  afterwards 
too  horribly  verified,  in  Bulgaria ;  but  I  never 
stirred  in  regard  to  those  outrages  until  in  the 
first  place,  their  existence  and  their  character  had 
been  established  by  indisputable  authority ;  and, 
secondly,  until  I  had  found  myself  driven  to  abso¬ 
lute  despair  in  regard  to  any  hopes  that  I  could  en¬ 
tertain  of  a  proper  representation  of  British  feeling 


Gladstone  on  the  Armenian  Massacre.  123 

on  the  part  of  the  government  which  was  then  in 
office.  You  will  see,  therefore,  that  my  conduct 
on  this  occasion  has  not  been  inconsistent  with  what 
I  then  did  (hear,  hear),  and  it  does  not  imply,  old  as 
I  am,  that  my  feelings  have  been  deadened  in  regard 
to  matters  of  such  a  dreadful  description.  (Cheers.) 

“Now  I  remained  silent  because  I  had  full  confi¬ 
dence  that  the  government  of  the  Queen  would  do  its 
duty,  and  I  still  entertain  that  confidence.  Its  power 
and  influence  are  considerable  ;  at  the  same  time  they 
are  limited.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  this  country, 
acting  singly,  to  undertake  to  represent  humanity  at 
large,  and  to  inflict,  even  upon  the  grossest  wrong¬ 
doers,  the  punishments  that  their  crimes  may  have 
deserved  ;  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  conscience 
of  mankind  at  large,  and  the  conscience  is  not  lim¬ 
ited  even  to  Christendom.  (Hear,  hear.)  And  there 
is  a  great  power  in  the  collected  voice  of  outraged 
humanity.  What  happened  in  Bulgaria  ?  The  Sul¬ 
tan  and  his  government  absolutely  denied  that  any¬ 
thing  wrong  had  been  done.  Yes,  but  their  denial 
was  shattered  by  the  force  of  facts.  The  truth  was 
exhibited  to  the  world.  It  was  thought  an  extrava¬ 
gance  at  the  time  when  I  said:  ‘It  is  time  that 
the  Turk  and  all  his  belongings  should  go  out  of 
Bulgaria  bag  and  baggage.’  They  did  go  out  of 
Bulgaria,  and  they  went  out  of  a  good  deal  besides. 
But,  quite  independent  of  any  sentiment  of  right, 
justice,  or  humanity,  common  sense  and  common 
prudence  ought  to  have  taught  them  not  to  repeat 
the  infernal  acts  which  disgraced  the  year  1876,  so 
far  as  Turkey  was  concerned.  (Cheers.) 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


1 24 

“  Now,  it  is  certainly  true  that  we  have  not  arrived 
at  the  close  of  this  inquiry,  and  I  will  say  nothing  to 
assume  that  the  allegations  will  be  verified.  At  the 
same  time  I  cannot  pretend  to  say  that  there  is  no 
reason  to  anticipate  an  unfavorable  issue.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  the  intelligence  which  has  reached  me  tends  to  a 
conclusion  which  I  still  hope  may  not  be  verified, 
but  tends  strongly  to  a  conclusion  to  the  general 
effect  that  the  outrages  and  the  scenes  and  abomina¬ 
tions  of  1876  in  Bulgaria  have  been  repeated  in  1894 
in  Armenia.  As  I  have  said,  I  hope  it  is  not  so,  and 
I  will  hope  to  the  last,  but  if  it  is  so  it  is  time  that 
one  general  shout  of  execration,  not  of  men,  but  of 
deeds,  one  general  shout  of  execration  directed 
against  deeds  of  wickedness,  should  rise  from  out¬ 
raged  humanity,  and  should  force  itself  into  the  ears 
of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  and  make  him  sensible,  if 
anything  can  make  him  sensible,  of  the  madness  of 
such  a  course. 

“The  history  of  Turkey  has  been  a  sad  and 
painful  history.  That  race  has  not  been  without 
remarkable  and  even  in  some  cases  fine  quali¬ 
ties,  but  from  too  many  points  of  view  it  has  been 
a  scourge  to  the  world,  made  use  of,  no  doubt, 
by  a  wise  Providence  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  If 
these  tales  of  murder,  violation,  and  outrage  be  true, 
then  it  will  follow  that  they  cannot  be  overlooked, 
and  they  cannot  be  made  light  of.  I  have  lived  to 
see  the  Empire  of  Turkey  in  Europe  reduced  to  less 
than  one  half  of  what  it  was  when  I  was  born,  and 
why  ?  Simply  because  of  its  misdeeds — a  great  record 
written  by  the  hand  of  Almighty  God,  in  whom  tht; 


Gladstone  on  the  Armenian  Massacre.  125 

Turk,  as  a  Mohammedan,  believes,  and  believes  firmly 
- — written  by  the  hand  of  Almighty  God  against  in¬ 
justice,  against  lust,  against  the  most  abominable 
cruelty  ;  and  if — and  I  hope,  and  I  feel  sure,  that  the 
government  of  the  Queen  will  do  everything  that 
can  be  done  to  pierce  to  the  bottom  of  this  mystery, 
and  to  make  the  facts  known  to  the  world — if,  happily 
— I  speak  hoping  against  hope — if  the  reports  we  have 
read  are  to  be  disproved  or  to  be  mitigated,  then  let 
us  thank  God  ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  be 
established,  then  I  say  it  will  more  than  ever  stand 
before  the  world  that  there  is  no  lesson,  however 
severe,  that  can  teach  certain  people  the  duty,  the 
prudence,  the  necessity  of  observing  in  some  de¬ 
gree  the  laws  of  decency,  and  of  humanity,  and  of 
justice,  and  that  if  allegations  such  as  these  are 
established,  it  will  stand  as  if  it  were  written  with 
letters  of  iron  on  the  records  of  the  world,  that  such 
a  government  as  that  which  can  countenance  and 
cover  the  perpetration  of  such  outrages  is  a  disgrace 
in  the  first  place  to  Mahomet,  the  Prophet  whom  it 
professes  to  follow,  that  it  is  a  disgrace  to  civilization 
at  large,  and  that  it  is  a  curse  to  mankind.  (Cheers.) 
Now,  that  is  strong  language. 

“  Strong  language  ought  to  be  used  when  facts  are 
strong,  and  ought  not  to  be  used  without  strength  of 
facts.  I  have  counselled  you  still  to  retain  and  to  keep 
your  judgment  in  suspense,  but  as  the  evidence  grows 
and  the  case  darkens,  my  hopes  dwindle  and  decline  ; 
and  as  long  as  I  have  a  voice  I  hope  that  voice,  upon 
occasions,  will  be  uttered  on  behalf  of  humanity  and 
truth.”  (Cheers.)1 

1  The  London  Times ,  Weekly  Edition  Jan.  14,  1895. 


126 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


In  a  remarkable  paper  entitled  Bulgarian  Horrors 
and  the  Question  of  the  East  called  forth  by  the  atroc¬ 
ities  in  1876,  Mr.  Gladstone  sums  up  some  of  the 
qualities  of  the  Turkish  race  and  of  Turkish  rule  as 
follows :  1 

“  Let  me  endeavor  very  briefly  to  sketch,  in  the 
rudest  outline,  what  the  Turkish  race  was  and  what 
it  is.  It  is  not  a  question  of  Mohammedanism  sim¬ 
ply,  but  of  Mohammedanism  compounded  with  the 
peculiar  character  of  a  race.  They  are  not  the  mild 
Mohammedans  of  India,  nor  the  chivalrous  Saladins 
of  Syria,  nor  the  cultured  Moors  of  Spain.  They 
were,  upon  the  whole,  from  the  black  day  when  they 
first  entered  Europe,  the  one  great  anti-human  speci¬ 
men  of  humanity.  Wherever  they  went,  a  broad 
line  of  blood  marked  the  track  behind  them  ;  and,  as 
far  as  their  dominion  reached,  civilization  disap¬ 
peared  from  view.  They  represented  everywhere 
government  by  force  as  opposed  to  government  by 
law.  For  the  guide  of  this  life  they  had  a  relentless 
fatalism  ;  for  its  reward  hereafter,  a  sensual  paradise. 

“  They  were,  indeed,  a  tremendous  incarnation  of 
military  power.  This  advancing  curse  menaced  the 
whole  of  Europe.  It  was  only  stayed — and  that  not 
in  one  generation,  but  in  many — by  the  heroism  of 
the  European  population  of  those  very  countries 
part  of  which  form  at  this  moment  the  scene  of  war, 
and  the  anxious  subject  of  diplomatic  action.  In 
the  olden  time  all  Western  Christendom  sympathized 
with  the  resistance  to  the  common  enemy  ;  and  even 
during  the  hot  and  fierce  struggles  of  the  Reforma- 

1  Reprinted  from  The  Christian  Register,  Boston,  Dec.  I,  1894. 


fw 


KURDISH  HAMIDIEH  SOLDIERS  EXECUTING  THE  “  SWORD  DANCE 


I  28 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


tion  there  were  prayers,  if  I  mistake  not,  offered  up 
in  the  English  churches  for  the  success  of  the 
emperor — the  head  of  the  Roman  Catholic  power 
and  influence — in  his  struggles  with  the  Turk. 

“  But,  although  the  Turk  represented  force  as  op¬ 
posed  to  law,  yet  not  even  a  government  of  force 
can  be  maintained  without  the  aid  of  an  intellectual 
element,  such  as  he  did  not  possess.  Hence  there 
grew  up  what  has  been  rare  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  a  kind  of  tolerance  in  the  midst  of  cruelty, 
tyranny,  and  rapine.  Much  of  Christian  life  was 
contemptuously  let  alone,  much  of  the  subordinate 
functions  of  government  was  allowed  to  devolve 
upon  the  bishops  ;  and  a  race  of  Greeks  was  attracted 
to  Constantinople  which  has  all  along  made  up,  in 
some  degree,  the  deficiencies  of  Turkish  Islam  in  the 
element  of  mind,  and  which  at  this  moment  provides 
the  Porte  with  its  long-known  and,  I  must  add, 
highly  esteemed  ambassador  in  London.  Then 
there  have  been,  from  time  to  time,  but  rarely, 
statesmen  whom  we  have  been  too  ready  to  mistake 
for  specimens  of  what  Turkey  might  become,  where¬ 
as  they  were,  in  truth,  more  like  hisns  naturce,  on 
the  favorable  side, — monsters,  so  to  speak,  of  virtue 
or  intelligence.  And  there  were  (and  are)  also, 
scattered  through  the  community,  men  who  were 
not,  indeed,  real  citizens,  but  yet  who  have  exhibited 
the  true  civic  virtues,  and  who  would  have  been 
citizens,  had  there  been  a  true  polity  around  them. 
Besides  all  this,  the  conduct  of  the  race  has  gradually 
been  brought  more  under  the  eye  of  Europe,  which 
it  has  lost  its  power  to  resist  or  to  defy ;  and  its 


Gladstone  on  the  Ar7nenian  Massacre .  129 

central  government,  in  conforming  perforce  to  many 
of  the  forms  and  traditions  of  civilization,  has  oc¬ 
casionally  caught  something  of  their  spirit.  .  .  . 

“  I  entreat  my  countrymen,  upon  whom  far  more 
than  perhaps  any  other  people  of  Europe  it  depends, 
to  require  and  to  insist  that  our  government,  which 
has  been  working  in  one  direction,  shall  work  in  the 
other,  and  shall  apply  all  its  vigor  to  concur  with  the 
other  states  of  Europe  in  obtaining  the  extinction 
of  the  Turkish  executive  power  in  Bulgaria.  Let 
the  Turks  now  carry  away  their  abuses  in  the  only 
possible  manner — namely,  by  carrying  off  themselves. 
Their  Zaptiehs  and  their  Mudirs,  their  Bimbashis 
and  their  Yuzbachis,  their  Kaimakams  and  their 
Pashas, — one  and  all,  bag  and  baggage, — shall,  I 
hope,  clear  out  from  the  province  they  have  desolated 
and  profaned.  This  thorough  riddance,  this  most 
blessed  deliverance,  is  the  only  reparation  we  can 
make  to  the  memory  of  those  heaps  on  heaps  of 
dead ;  to  the  violated  purity  alike  of  matron,  of 
maiden,  and  of  child  ;  to  the  civilization  which  has 
been  affronted  and  shamed  ;  to  the  laws  of  God,  or, 
if  you  like,  of  Allah  ;  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind 
at  large.  There  is  not  a  criminal  in  a  European  jail, 
there  is  not  a  cannibal  in  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
whose  indignation  would  not  arise  and  overboil  at 
the  recital  of  that  which  has  been  done  ;  which  has 
too  late  been  examined,  but  which  remains  una¬ 
venged  ;  which  has  left  behind  all  the  foul  and  all 
the  fierce  passions  that  produced  it  ;  and  which  may 
again  spring  up,  in  another  murderous  harvest,  from 
the  soil  soaked  and  reeking  with  blood,  and  in  the 


130 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


air  tainted  with  every  imaginable  deed  of  crime  and 
shame.  That  such  things  should  be  done  once  is  a 
damning  disgrace  to  the  portion  of  our  race  which 
did  them ,  that  a  door  should  be  left  open  for  their 
ever-so-barely  possible  repetition  would  spread  that 
shame  over  the  whole i  Better,  we  may  justly  tell  the 
Sultan,  almost  any  inconvenience,  difficulty,  or  loss 
associated  with  Bulgaria, 

‘  Than  thou  reseated  in  thy  place  of  light, 

The  mockery  of  thy  people  and  their  bane.' 

“We  may  ransack  the  annals  of  the  world  ;  but  I 
know  not  what  research  can  furnish  us  with  so  por¬ 
tentous  an  example  of  the  fiendish  misuse  of  the 
powers  established  by  God  ‘  for  the  punishment  of 
evil-doers,  and  for  the  encouragement  of  them  that 
do  well.’  No  government  ever  has  so  sinned  ;  none 
has  so  proved  itself  incorrigible  in  sin,  or,  which  is 
the  same,  so  impotent  for  reformation.  If  it  be  al¬ 
lowable  that  the  executive  power  of  Turkey  should 
renew,  at  this  great  crisis,  by  permission  or  authority 
of  Europe,  the  charter  of  its  existence  in  Bulgaria, 
then  there  is  not  on  record,  since  the  beginnings  of 
political  society,  a  protest  that  man  has  lodged 
against  intolerable  misgovernment,  or  a  stroke  he  has 
dealt  at  loathsome  tyranny,  that  ought  not  hence¬ 
forth  forward  to  be  branded  as  a  crime.” 

1  And  yet  England  by  the  Cyprus  Convention  pledged  all  her 
resources  to  keep  the  door  open ,  and  the  repetition  thus  made  possible 
has  occurred.  Author. 


CHAPTER  X. 


WHO  ARE  THE  ARMENIANS? 

THAT  a  field  so  rich  in  possibilities  for  the  student 
of  history,  ethnology,  or  language  as  Armenia 
and  Kurdistan  should  have  remained  as  yet  so 
little  explored,  is  due,  no  doubt,  to  three  causes1: 
first,  the  apparent  loss  of  significance  of  the  Armenian 
nation,  which  now,  like  Poland,  seems  but  a  stranded 
wreck  in  the  stream  of  history  ;  second,  to  her  geo¬ 
graphical  isolation  and  the  danger  and  hardship  of 
travel  in  that  region 2  ;  third,  to  the  linguistic 
obstacles  to  be  overcome. 

So  little  clear  and  accurate  information  about  the 
Armenians  is  readily  accessible  that  the  following 
brief  outline  is  offered  in  the  hope  of  meeting  this 
want  at  the  present  time. 

HISTORY — The  Armenian  race  belongs  to  the 

1  “  Kurdistan  abounds  in  antiquities  of  the  most  varied  and  interest¬ 
ing  character.  .  .  .  It  may  indeed  be  asserted  that  there  is  no 

region  of  the  East  at  the  present  day  which  deserves  a  more  careful 
scrutiny  and  promises  a  richer  harvest  to  the  antiquarian  explorer 
than  the  lands  inhabited  by  the  Kurds  from  Erzeroum  to  Kirman- 
shahan.” — Major-General  H.  C.  Rawlinson,  Encyc.  Britannica , 
article  on  “  Kurdistan.” 

2  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop,  Journeys  in  Persia  and  Kurdistan. 
2  vols.  New  York:  Putnam’s,  1891.  London:  John  Murray. 


1 32 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


J aphetic  branch  of  the  human  family,  falling  under  the 
same  category  as  the  inhabitants  of  India  and  Persia, 
who  form  the  Aryans  of  Asia.  The  Armenian 
language  proves  this  by  its  affinity  with  the  Indo- 
Germanic  tongues.  Their  physiognomy  and  physi¬ 
cal  constitution  connect  them  with  the  best  types  of 
Caucasian  stock.  Their  manners  and  customs,  as 
well  as  their  religious  beliefs,  in  heathenism,  were 
similar  to  those  of  the  Assyrians  and  Chaldeans,  of 
the  Medes  and  Persians,  and,  still  later,  of  the  Par- 
thians. 

These  people  call  themselves  Haik,  after  Haig,  the 
most  celebrated  of  their  ancient  kings,  and  their 
land  Haiasdan.  Their  national  legends,  fortified  in 
their  eyes  by  the  Bible,  make  Haig  descend  from 
Ashkenaz  or  Togarmah,  children  of  Gomer,  a  patri¬ 
arch  of  the  line  of  Japhet.1  Foreigners  applied  to 
them  the  name  Armenians,  derived  from  King  Aram, 
said  to  be  a  descendant  of  Haig,  who  made  great 
conquests.2 

The  earliest  biblical  mention  of  this  land  is  the 
statement  that  the  ark  “  rested  upon  the  mountains 
of  Ararat,”  a  term  which  evidently  refers  to  a  dis¬ 
trict  rather  than  a  peak.3  Another  scriptural  allusion 
is  in  connection  with  Sennacherib,  whose  parricidal 
sons  are  said  to  have  escaped,  68 1  B.  C.,  “  into  the 
land  of  Armenia.”4  Ezekiel  also  refers  to  Armenia 
under  the  name  Togarmah,  as  furnishing  Tyre  with 

1  Gen.  x.,  2,  3. 

2  Moses  of  Khorene,  History ,  Bk.  i.,  chap.  12. 

3  Gen.  viii.,  4. 

4  Heb.  Ararat,  2  Kings  xix.,  37  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.,  38. 


Who  are  the  Armenians  ? 


133 


horses  and  mules,  a  product  for  which  it  is  still 
noted.1  Tigranes  I.  is  said  to  have  been  an  ally  of 
Cyrus  the  Great  in  overthrowing  the  Babylonians, 
and  thus  in  liberating  the  Jews  after  their  seventy 
years’  captivity,  538  B.  C.  A  foreshadowing  of  this 
event  is  probably  found  in  the  prophet  Jeremiah  : 
“  Call  together  against  her  the  kingdoms  of  Ararat, 
Minni,  and  Ashkenaz,  ...  to  make  the  land  of 
Babylon  a  desolation  without  an  inhabitant.”  2 

In  the  famous  inscriptions  of  the  Achemenidae,  at 
Persepolis  and  at  Behistun,  the  name  Armenia  is 
found  in  various  forms,  and  the  Armenian  tributaries 
march  after  the  Cappadocians  to  render  homage  to 
the  great  king.3 

Herodotus  mentions  the  absorption  of  the  Ar¬ 
menian  Empire  in  that  of  Darius,  514  B.  C.,  and  a 
tribute  of  four  hundred  talents  exacted.4 

Xenophon’s  account  of  the  retreat  of  the  ten 
thousand  through  this  mountainous  region,  in  mid¬ 
winter,  and  constantly  harassed  by  enemies,  is  valua¬ 
ble,  not  only  as  a  tribute  to  the  splendid  discipline 
and  spirit  of  the  Greeks,  but  for  the  light  which  it 
throws  upon  the  ancient  Armenians  and  Kurds, 
whose  houses,  domestic  habits,  and  employments  are 
the  same  in  many  respects  even  at  the  present  day.5 

Armenia  was  included  in  the  conquests  of  Alex¬ 
ander,  and  afterwards  submitted  to  the  Seleucidse  of 

1  Ezek.  xxvii.,  14;  also  xxxviii.,  6. 

2  Jer.  li. ,  27-29  ;  also  1.,  9,  41,  42. 

3  Christian  Lassen,  Die  alipersischen  Keil-Inschriften  von  Per¬ 
sepolis ,  Bonn,  1836,  pp.  86,  87. 

4  History,  Bk.  iii.,  chap.  93. 


5  Anabasis ,  Bk.  jv. 


134 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Syria.  In  190  B.  C.,  when  Antiochus  the  Great  was 
defeated  by  Scipio,  Armenia  revolted  under  Artaxias, 
who  gave  refuge  to  the  exiled  Hannibal.  About 
150  B.  C.,  the  great  Parthian  king,  Mithridates  I., 
established  his  brother  Valarsaces  in  Armenia.  The 
most  celebrated  king  of  this  branch  of  the  Arsacid 
family  was  Tigranes  II.,  who,  while  aiding  Mithri¬ 
dates  of  Pontus,  was  defeated  by  Pompey.  After 
this,  Tacitus  says  that  the  Armenians  were  almost 
always  at  war  ;  with  the  Romans  through  hatred, 
and  with  the  Parthians  through  jealousy.1  Princes 
of  this  line  continued  to  rule,  however,  until  the 
Arsacidae  were  driven  from  the  Persian  throne  by 
the  Sassanid  Ardashir.  Though  frequently  con¬ 
quered  by  the  kings  of  that  dynasty,  Armenia  was 
enabled  as  often  to  re-assert  her  freedom  by  the  help 
of  Roman  arms. 

When  Tiridates  embraced  Christianity,  276  A.  D., 
the  struggle  became  embittered  by  the  introduction 
of  a  religious  element,  for  the  Persians  were  bigoted 
Zoroastrians.  This  condition  reached  a  climax  when 
the  country  was  divided  between  the  Romans  and 
Persians,  under  Theodosius  the  Great,  390  A.  D. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Sassanidse,  in  the  seventh  cen¬ 
tury,  Armenia  was  divided  between  the  Greek  Em¬ 
pire  and  the  Saracens  ;  but  from  859  to  1045  it  was 
again  ruled  by  a  native  dynasty  of  vigorous  princes, 
the  Pagratidae.  This  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
suspicious  and  short-sighted  policy  of  the  Byzantine 
emperors,  one  of  whom,  Constantine  IX.,  at  last 
overthrew  the  Armenian  kingdom,  thereby  laying 

1  Annates,  Bk.  ii.,  ch.  56. 


fr^fM 


*r  vV*v 

mmM 

Sll 


Ifelli 


•  t^r.  !•*<,}, 

mM 


mm 


>y*.  .  *;.’•  v» 


AN  ARMENIAN  TOMBSTONE  OF  A.  D.  934 

Evidence  of  a  high  state  of  art. 

135 


136 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


open  the  whole  eastern  frontier  to  the  invasion  of 
the  Seljouk  Turks,  who  shortly  before  had  begun 
their  attacks,  and  who  might  have  been  successfully 
resisted  by  these  hardy  mountaineers.  The  result 
was  fatal,  both  to  Armenia,  which  was  overrun,  and 
to  the  Greek  Empire  ;  for  by  the  battle  of  Manzikert, 
1071  A.  D.,  when  Romanus  IV.  was  defeated  and 
made  prisoner  by  Alp  Arslan,  the  whole  of  Asia 
Minor  was  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  Seljouks.1 

Rupen,  a  relative  of  the  last  Pagratid  sovereign, 
escaped  into  Cilicia,  and  established  the  Rupenian 
dynasty,  which  was  not  extinguished  until  the 
death  of  Leon  VI.,  1393,  an  exile  in  Paris,  and  the 
last  of  the  Armenian  kings.  The  Rupenians  had 
entered  into  alliance  with  the  Crusaders.  They  wel¬ 
comed  the  Mongolian  hordes  under  Genghis  Khan, 
early  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  suffered  the 
vengeance  of  the  Mamelukes,  1375. 

A  graphic  account  of  the  cruelties  of  Timour  'the 
Tartar,  who  devastated  Armenia  at  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  has  been  left  us  by  Thomas  of 
Medzop.  The  last  great  calamity  which  fell  upon 
the  mother  country  happened  in  1605,  when  Shah 
Abbas  forcibly  transplanted  twelve  thousand  families 
to  Ispahan  in  Persia. 

The  Armenian  Church. — It  is  the  oldest  of  all 
national  churches.  Their  legends  claim  that  our  Lord 
corresponded  with  King  Abgarus  of  Edessa  or  Ur, 
and  that  the  apostles  Thaddseus  and  Bartholomew 
preached  the  Gospel  to  them.  But  the  historical 
founder  of  the  Armenian  church  was  St.  Gregory 
1  Tozer,  The  Church  and  the  Eastern  Empire ,  pp.  22,  86, 


Who  are  the  Armenians  ? 


137 


“  The  Illuminator,”  1  an  Arsarcid  prince,  related  to 
King  Tiridates  (Dertad),  who  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Armenia,  at  Caesarea,  in  302  A.  D.  The  Armenian 
church  is  Episcopal  in  polity,  and  closely  resembles 
the  Greek  in  outward  forms. 

Misled  by  imperfect  reports  of  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon,  451,  which  they  were  not  able  to  attend 
on  account  of  Persian  persecutions,  the  Armenian 
bishops  annulled  its  decrees  in  536,  thus  gaining  the 
credit  of  being  Eutychians,  which  led  to  their  gradual 
separation  from  the  orthodox  church,  much  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Persian  ruler  Chosroes.  This  es¬ 
trangement  was  doubtless  political  as  much  as  doc¬ 
trinal,  on  account  of  the  attempts  at  ecclesiastical 
supremacy  by  the  churches  of  Constantinople  and 
Rome.  As  far  as  her  ecclesiastical  writers  are  con¬ 
cerned,  and  her  beautiful  liturgy,  the  Armenian 
church  is  in  general  orthodox.  Her  heresy,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  that  of  the  rest  of  Christendom,  is  one  of 
life  rather  than  of  doctrine.  A  chism  in  the  Armenian 
church  was  brought  about  in  the  sixteenth  century 
by  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  succeeded  in  detaching 
the  community  of  Catholic  Armenians  from  the 
mother  church,  of  which  the  Catholicos  at  Etchmiad- 
zin  is  recognized  as  the  supreme  head. 

All  Armenians — except  perhaps  the  Catholic, 
whose  allegiance  has  been  transferred  of  course  to 
Rome — still  cherish  a  passionate  attachment  for  the 
venerable  church  of  their  ancestors,  to  which  they 
owe  their  identity  as  a  people  after  the  terrible  vicis- 

1  Krikor  “  Loosavoritch,”  from  which  title  the  Armenian  Gregorian 
church  calls  itself  Loosavortchagan. 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


133 

situdes  of  so  rn^ny  centuries.  It  is  true  that  Ar¬ 
menians  who  have  come  under  European  influence, 
especially  French,  have  to  some  extent  become  scep¬ 
tical  and  indifferent  to  religion.  But  even  such  men 
still  profess  at  least  an  outward  loyalty,  as  a  matter 
of  sentiment,  and  because  they  believe  the  formal 
preservation  of  the  Armenian  church  to  be  the  con¬ 
dition  of  national  union  in  the  future  as  it  has  been 
in  the  past.  It  is,  indeed,  almost  a  political  necessity, 
as  the  Ottoman  Empire  is  now  constituted. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  will  come  when  the 
children  of  the  Armenian  church  of  every  shade  will 
no  longer  look  upon  her  as  a  mother  frail  and  failing, 
yet  to  be  treated  with  respect  while  she  lasts  ;  nor  as 
a  mother  ignorant  and  bigoted  beyond  hope  of  re¬ 
form  ;  still  less,  as  one  heretical  and  to  be  abandoned 
for  Rome.  Rather,  let  all  her  sons  rally  around  her 
and  help  her  to  fulfil  her  true  spiritual  mission.  She 
will  then  renew  her  youth  and  again  take  her  honored 
place  in  the  front  ranks  of  “  the  Church  of  the  living 
God,  which  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth.” 

Would  that  the  spirit  of  the  grand  and  broad¬ 
minded  man  who  is  now  the  Catholicos  at  Etchmiad- 
zin,  His  Holiness,  Mugerditch  Khrimian,  might 
pervade  the  whole  body  of  which  he  is  the  honored 
and  beloved  head.  Less  than  a  year  ago,  the  author 
had  the  privilege  of  a  long  private  interview  with  this 
venerable  ecclesiastic,  whose  hand  he  kissed  in  ori¬ 
ental  fashion,  with  respect  for  the  man  and  for  himself. 
His  last  words  to  me,  found  upon  the  title-page, 
were  “  Husahadclu  chenk ,”  meaning,  “We  must  not 
despair” — a  good  motto  for  us  all. 


Who  are  the  Armenians? 


139 


That  the  grand  old  church  of  “The  Illuminator” 
should  somewhat  lose  its  hold  on  the  mind  and  con¬ 
science  of  the  rising  generation  at  this  stage  of  super- 


THE  CATHOL1COS  OF  ETCHMIADZIN,  IN  THE  CAUCASUS. 
Religious  head  of  the  Armenian  Church. 

facial  enlightenment  is  not  strange.  Her  real  merits 
are  concealed,  unfortunately,  under  a  growth  of  super¬ 
stition  and  ignorance  which  even  the  clergy  admit. 


140 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


but  lack  the  courage  and  ability  to  remove.  These 
abuses,  however,  are  not  due  to  any  demoralization 
of  the  Armenian  race  itself,  but  to  its  isolation,  and 
to  the  repeated  and  terrible  devastations  that  have 
checked  its  growth  and  reduced  it  to  a  condition  of 
extreme  poverty  and  helplessness. 

No  greater  service  could  be  rendered  to  the  Ar¬ 
menian  people  than  aid  and  encouragement  in  estab¬ 
lishing  institutions  for  the  education  of  the  clergy, 
who  under  present  circumstances  are  their  natural 
leaders.  The  twentieth  century  will  bring,  we  hope, 
better  political  privileges.  But  unless,  in  the  mean¬ 
time,  the  ancient  church  has  maintained  her  hold 
on  the  conscience  of  the  rising  generation,  she  is  in 
danger  of  sinking  into  the  position  of  the  church  in 
France. 

By  nature  the  Armenians  are  deeply  religious,  a? 
their  wFole  literature  and  history  show.  It  has  been 
a  religion  of  the  heart,  not  of  the  head.  Its  evidence 
is  not  to  be  found  in  metaphysical  discussions  and 
hair-splitting  theology  as  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks, 
but  in  a  brave  and  simple  record  written  with  the 
tears  of  saints  and  illuminated  with  the  blood  of 
martyrs. 

The  seeds  of  a  thorough  and  far-reaching  reforma¬ 
tion  have  been  carefully  sown  and  are  already  bear¬ 
ing  fruit.  The  prospect  of  reform  is  brightened  by 
three  facts :  first,  the  Armenian  church  is  essentially 
democratic,  and  is  not  in  bondage  to  any  “  infallible  ” 
human  authority  ;  second,  her  errors  of  doctrine  and 
practice  are  not  fundamental,  and,  having  never  been 
sanctioned  by  councils,  but  simply  by  custom  and 


Who  are  the  Armenians  ?  1 4 1 

tradition,  can  in  due  time  be  discarded  ;  third,  she 
has  always  acknowledged  the  supreme  authority  of 


THE  SUBORDINATE  CATHOI.ICOS  OF  AGHTAMAR,  A  TOOL  OF 

THE  TURKS. 

Wearing  the  Sultan’s  highest  decorations  for  services  rendered. 

the  Bible,  which  is  no  longer  a  sealed  book,  having 
been  translated  into  the  modern  tongue  by  American 
missionaries,  very  widely  scattered,  and  at  last  gladly 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


\\l 

received  by  all  classes.  The  demand  for  progress  and 
reform  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  so-called 
“  evangelical  ”  element,  but  is  making  itself  heard 
even  in  the  pulpits  of  the  old  church  and  in  the 
secular  press. 

The  Armenians,  very  numerous  in  ancient  times, 
now  number  only  about  4,000,000,  of  whom  2,500,000 
are  under  the  Sultan,  1,200,000  in  Russia,  150,000  in 
Persia,  and  the  rest  widely  scattered  in  many  lands, 
but  everywhere  distinguished  for  their  peaceable  and 
enterprising  character.  They  are  the  leading  bankers, 
merchants,  and  skilled  artisans  of  Turkey,  and  exten¬ 
sively  engage  in  the  various  trades,  manufactures, 
and  agriculture  as  well.  They  love  their  native  home 
and  are  yet  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
moral  and  material  regeneration  of  western  Asia. 

The  following  estimate  is  from  an  experienced  and 
discriminating  authority,  who  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  England  : 

“  I  have  confessed  already  to  a  prejudice  against 
the  Armenians,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  deny  that 
they  are  the  most  capable,  energetic,  enterprising, 
and  pushing  race  in  Western  Asia,  physically  su¬ 
perior,  and  intellectually  acute,  and  above  all  they 
are  a  race  which  can  be  raised  in  all  respects  to  our 
own  level ,  neither  religion,  color ,  customs,  nor  inferi¬ 
ority  in  mtcllect  or  force  constituting  any  barrier  be¬ 
tween  us.  Their  shrewdness  and  aptitude  for  business 
are  remarkable,  and  whatever  exists  of  commercial 
enterprise  in  Eastern  Asia  Minor  is  almost  altogether 
in  their  hands.  They  have  singular  elasticity,  as 
their  survival  as  a  church  and  nation  shows,  and  I 


Who  are  the  Armenians  ? 


Hi 


cannot  but  think  it  likely  that  they  may  have  some 
share  in  determining  the  course  of  events  in  the 
East,  both  politically  and  religiously.  As  Orientals 
they  understand  Oriental  character  and  modes  of 
thought  as  we  never  can,  and  if  a  new  Pentecostal 
afflatus  were  to  fall  upon  the  educated  and  intelli¬ 
gent  young  men  who  are  being  trained  in  the  colleges 
which  the  American  churches  have  scattered  liberally 
through  Asia  Minor,  the  effect  upon  Turkey  would 
be  marvellous.  I  think  most  decidedly  that  re¬ 
form  in  Turkey  must  come  through  Christianity, 
and  in  this  yiew  the  reform  and  enlightenment  of  the 
religion  which  has  such  a  task  before  it  are  of  mo¬ 
mentous  importance.  ”  1 

Language  and  Literature. — The  Armenian 
grammar  is  analogous  to  that  of  other  languages  of 
the  same  origin.  It  has  not  the  distinction  of  gen¬ 
der,  but  is  rich  in  its  declensions  and  conjugations. 
The  accent  of  Armenian  words  is  on  the  last  sylla¬ 
ble,  and  many  of  the  strong  consonantal  sounds 
strike  the  ear  of  a  foreigner  with  harshness,  and  defy 
his  tongue.  The  rich  native  vocabulary  has  been 
increased  by  additions  from  languages  with  which  it 
has  come  in  contact.  It  possesses  also,  as  the  Ger¬ 
man,  great  facility  in  building  compound  words. 

The  earliest  specimen  of  this  language,  though  in 
the  cuneiform  character,  is  probably  to  be  found  in 
the  tri-lingual  inscriptions  on  the  great  citadel  rock 
of  Van,  which  have  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  made 
out.  The  pre-Christian  literature  of  Armenia,  con¬ 
sisting  of  national  songs,  has  entirely  perished,  ex- 
1  Mrs.  Bishop,  yourneys  in  Persia  and  Kurdistan ,  vol.  ii. ,  p.  336. 


144 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


cept  a  few  quotations.  All  that  has  come  down  to 
us  is  subsequent  to  the  fourth  century,  and  refers 
exclusively  to  history  or  religion.  Poetry  and  fiction 
never  greatly  flourished  among  this  serious  race,  al¬ 
ways  in  the  midst  of  danger  or  suffering. 

The  ancient  Armenian  version  of  the  Bible,  made 
by  Mesrob,  the  inventor  of  their  alphabet,  and  his 
disciples,  early  in  the  fifth  century,  has  been  called 
the  queen  of  versions  for  its  beauty,  and,  though  not 
based  on  the  Hebrew,  is  of  some  critical  value  in 
determining  the  readings  of  the  Septuagint,  of  which 
it  does  not  follow  any  known  recension.  Hundreds 
of  other  translations  from  Syriac  and  Greek  writers 
soon  followed,  some  of  which  are  extant  only  in 
Armenian. 

The  fifth  century,  their  Golden  Age,  was  adorned 
by  such  classic  writers  as  Yeznig  of  Goghp,  who 
wrote  most  eloquently,  in  four  books,  against  the 
Persian  fire-worshippers,  the  Greek  philosophers, 
the  Marcion  heresy,  and  the  Manichaeans ;  Goriun, 
the  biographer  of  Mesrob  ;  David,  the  philosopher 
and  translator  of  Aristotle;  Yeghishe,  who  relates 
the  heroic  struggle  of  Vartan  for  the  Christian  faith 
against  the  Persian  Zoroastrians  ;  Lazarus  of  Parb  ; 
and  Moses  of  Khorene,  their  national  historian. 
There  follows  a  period  of  four  centuries  of  literary 
barrenness,  due  to  political  disorder  and  schism. 

Under  the  Rupenian  dynasty  there  was  a  second 
period  of  literary  brilliancy.  Then  flourished  Nerses 
Schnorhali  “The  Gracious,  ”  an  orator  grafted  upon 
the  poet ;  as  well  as  Nerses  of  Lampron,  whose  hymns 
also  enrich  the  beautiful  Armenian  liturgy.  The 


Who  are  the  Armenians?  145 

annals  of  Matthew  of  Edessa  give  interesting  facts 
about  the  first  Crusade.  Samuel  of  Ani,  John 


THE  ISLAND  MONASTERY  OF  AGHTAMAR,  IN  LAKE  VAN. 

One  of  many  similar  Armenian  Monasteries  still  existing,  rich  in 
parchment  manuscripts  exposed  to  decay  and  vandalism. 

Vanagan,  Vartan  the  Great,  and  Thomas  of  Med- 
zop  wrote  succeeding  chronicles. 

A  third  revival  of  Armenian  letters  was  begun  by 


146 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


Mechitar  of  Sebaste  (Sivas),who  established  an  order 
of  Catholic  monks  at  the  monastery  of  St.  Lazarus 
in  Venice,  1717.  These  fathers  have  won  the  inter¬ 
est  and  admiration  of  European  scholars  by  their 
publication  of  Armenian  classics,  together  with  many 
learned  original  contributions.  Other  centres  of 
literary  activity  are  to  be  found  in  Vienna,  Paris, 
and  the  Institute  of  Moscow,  as  well  as  the  schools 
of  Constantinople  and  Tiflis. 

A  list  of  authorities  on  Armenian  subjects  is  given 
in  Appendix  E. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

AMERICANS  IN  TURKEY,  THEIR  WORK  AND 

INFLUENCE. 

THE  American  missionaries  in  the  Turkish  Em¬ 
pire  are  brought  into  the  discussion  of  almost 
every  question  that  arises  in  that  land. 
Especially  is  this  true  at  present,  in  connection  with 
the  Armenian  problem.  So  many  wild  and  contra¬ 
dictory  statements  are  made  in  regard  to  them,  and 
the  Protestant  communities  which  are  the  direct  re¬ 
sults  of  their  labors,  that  the  mind  of  the  public  is 
more  or  less  confused  on  the  subject.  The  mission¬ 
aries,  and  the  many  thousands  who  have  gladly  fol¬ 
lowed  their  leadership  in  intellectual,  moral,  and 
religious  reform,  are  an  important,  though  not  a 
noisy  or  conspicuous  element.  For  this  reason,  as 
well  as  on  account  of  popular  ignorance  and  hostile 
misrepresentation,  they  cannot  be  overlooked  in  any 
fair  and  adequate  survey  of  the  situation.  The 
writer  has  long  been  familiar  with  this  phase  of  the 
subject,  and  has  a  large  mass  of  evidence  and  statis¬ 
tics  at  his  command.  But  he  is  not  connected  with 
any  of  the  various  missionary  societies  involved ,  and  is 
alone  responsible  for  the  statements  made  in  this  or 
any  other  part  of  the  volume . 


i47 


148 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


It  is  very  important  to  note  that  charges  against 
the  missionaries,  of  disloyalty  to  the  Sultan,  have 
never  been  sustained  for  a  moment,  and  that  investi¬ 
gation  has  shown  them  to  be  obedient  to  the  laws, 
and  opposed  to  revolutionary  sentiments  upon  the 
part  of  any  of  the  subjects  of  the  Empire.  The 
highest  officials  have  repeatedly  borne  public  testi¬ 
mony  to  the  valuable  services  of  the  Americans  in 
educational,  literary,  medical  and  philanthropic 
lines.  Even  H.  I.  M.  Sultan  Abd-ul-Hamid  has 
graciously  given  expression  to  his  confidence  in 
Americans  as  being  free  from  any  political  designs, 
such  as  all  Europeans  are  supposed  to  entertain. 

Many  are  not  aware  of  the  great  work  already  ac¬ 
complished  by  American  missionaries  during  the 
past  seventy  years  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  nor  of 
the  vast  influence  they  have  exerted,  both  directly 
and  indirectly.  They  have  been  in  many  depart¬ 
ments  the  pioneers  of  civilization.  They  have  stuck 
to  their  posts,  obscure  or  prominent,  in  peace  or  in 
war,  in  famine,  plague  and  persecution.  Pashas  and 
diplomats  and  generals  have  sought  their  aid  without 
fear  of  being  misled  or  betrayed.  But  the  messen¬ 
gers  of  the  Cross  have  never  been  swerved  from  what 
they  consider  a  “higher  calling” — to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  young  and  old,  to  counsel  and  reclaim  the 
erring,  to  attend  the  sick  and  imprisoned,  and  to 
comfort  the  broken-hearted.  To  support  these  gen¬ 
eral  statements,  the  reader  must  pardon  a  few  statis¬ 
tics  compiled  from  the  latest  official  tables,  showing 
the  direct  results  of  American  missionary  effort  in 
Turkey. 


Americans  in  Turkey . 


149 


STATISTICS  OF  AMERICAN  MISSIONS  IN  TURKEY.1 

The  following  figures,  with  the  exception  of  che 
Press  statistics,  represent  the  work  of  the  American 
Board  (Congregational)  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  taken  together. 

The  Congregational  proportion  constitutes  about 
three  fourths  and  the  Presbyterian  one  fourth  in  all 
these  figures,  the  work  of  the  latter  society  being 
confined  to  Syria  and  Mosul. 


THE  FORCE. 


Laborers. 

Foreign  missionaries 

Native  pastors,  preachers,  teachers,  etc. 


223 

1,094 


Total  force  of  laborers 
American  missionaries  to  Turkey  since  1821  . 


T3I7 

550 


1  By  far  the  largest  part  of  foreign  missionary  work  in  Turkey 
has  always  been  in  the  hands  of  Americans,  although,  of  course, 
they  neither  claim  nor  have  any  monopoly  in  this  respect.  As  a  mat¬ 
ter  of  fact  there  are  many  other  large  and  successful  missionary,  be¬ 
nevolent,  and  educational  enterprises  conducted  in  that  land  by  other 
foreign  societies  as  well  as  individuals.  The  various  Roman  Catholic 
orders  are  strongly  established  in  many  parts,  and  are  generally  of 
French  connections  and  introduce  that  language  in  their  work  as  the 
Americans  do  English.  The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  other  socie¬ 
ties  at  work  in  Turkey  :  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  the  Bible  Lands  Missions  Aid  Society, 
the  British  Syrian  Mission  Schools  and  Bible  Work,  the  Church  of 
Scotland  Mission  to  the  Jews,  the  Society  of  Friends  (both  English 
and  American),  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  the  Reformed  Pres¬ 
byterian  Mission,  and  the  German  Deaconesses.  In  addition  to  all 
these  agencies,  there  are  many  private  and  local  schools  and  institu¬ 
tions  that  are  doing  excellent  work,  but  of  which  only  this  general 
mention  can  here  be  made. 

The  statistics  of  Robert  College,  Constantinople,  are  not  included 
in  these  tables,  as  that  institution,  though  a  child  of  American  Mis¬ 
sions,  is  independent  of  them. 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


150 


riant. 

Value  of  property  held  by  Americans,  exclusive  of 
churches,  schools,  etc.,  erected  in  the  names  of 
native  subjects,  with  foreign  aid,  for  which  sta¬ 
tistics  are  not  available  .....  $2,500,000 

Annual  Expenditure. 

Appropriations  from  America  ....  $225,000 

From  native  sources  ......  60,000 


Total  expenditure  annually 
Total  American  expenditure  from  the  first,  at  least 


$235,000 

$10,000,000 


THE  RESULTS. 

Religious. 

Churches  organized  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  155 

Other  stated  preaching  places  .....  2S1 

Total  number  of  preaching  places  .  .  .  436 

Communicants  (received  on  confession  of  faith)  .  13,528 

Members  of  Protestant  civil  communities  (adherents)  60,000 

Average  Sunday  congregations  .....  40,000 

Sunday-school  membership  .....  35,000 


Educational. 


Colleges  well  equipped,  for 

•* 

both  sexes  .... 

5 

Theological  seminaries 

6 

>  students 

4,085 

High-schools  for  boys  ) 

80 

Boarding-schools  for  girls  f 

* 

Common  schools  for  both  sexes 

530 

i  < 

23,315 

Total  schools  of  all  grades  . 

621 

Students 

27,400 

There  are  six  American  institutions  in  Turkey 
incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  controlled  by  trustees  in  that  land. 

Medical. 

There  is  a  well  equipped  American  Medical  Col¬ 
lege  and  Hospital  at  Beirut,  and  American  mission- 


Americans  in  Turkey. 


1 5 1 

ary  physicians  treat,  yearly,  many  thousands  of 
patients  of  all  classes  and  races  throughout  the 
land,  both  in  their  dispensaries  and  in  private  prac¬ 
tice,  at  a  nominal  sum  and  very  often  gratuitously. 

Publishing . 

Both  weekly  and  monthly  newspapers  are  pub¬ 
lished  by  the  American  missionaries  at  Constantino¬ 
ple,  in  the  Armenian,  Turkish,  Greek,  and  Bulgarian 
languages,  and  an  Arabic  weekly  is  published  at 
Beirut. 

The  catalogue  of  editions  of  the  Scriptures  and  of 
religious,  educational,  and  miscellaneous  books  and 
tracts  in  various  languages,  which  may  be  obtained 
at  the  American  Bible  House,  Constantinople,  con¬ 
tains  separate  titles  to  the  number  of  about  1000. 
The  publications  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Presbyte¬ 
rian  Press  at  Beirut,  mostly  in  Arabic,  number  507. 
The  number  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  (entire  or  in 
part)  put  in  circulation  by  the  Levant  Agency  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  alone,  1847  to  1893,  is  1,378,- 
715.  The  number  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  (entire 
or  in  part)  in  languages  and  type  available  for  Mo¬ 
hammedans ,  put  in  circulation  by  the  same  Agency 
in  1893,  was  Osmanli-Turkish  (Arabic  type),  5,392  ; 
Arabic  language  (Arabic  type),  34,077  ;  total,  39,469. 

The  number  of  copies  of  Scriptures  (entire  or  in 
part)  circulated  in  Turkey  since  1820  amounts  to 
about  3,000,000.  The  number  of  copies  of  other 
books  and  tracts  for  the  same  period  is  about  4,000,- 
000.  The  total  number  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures 
and  of  miscellaneous  literature  circulated  is  therefore 
about  7,000,000. 


152 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Even  these  large  figures  by  no  means  measure  the 
extent  and  significance  of  Protestant  influence  in 
Turkey.  The  idea  and  spirit  of  Protestantism  has  a 
breadth  which  cannot  be  measured  or  portrayed  by 
figures.  As  a  matter  of  convenience  and  political 


ARMENIAN  FAMILY,  BITLIS. 

necessity,  and  also  to  destroy  unity  of  feeling  and 
action  among  the  subject  peoples,  all  non-Moslem 
races  were  classified  by  Mohammed  II.,  after  the 
capture  of  Constantinople  in  1453,  according  to  their 
religious  belief.  These  lines' of  division  have  always 


Americans  in  Turkey . 


153 


been  strictly  observed  by  the  government  in  all  its 
dealings  with  non-Moslems.  Even  many  of  the  taxes 
are  collected  through  ecclesiastical  organizations. 
This  policy  of  the  government,  together  with  the 
bitter  persecution  of  Protestants  by  the  older 
churches,  led  to  the  formation  of  a  Protestant  civil 
community  in  1850,  contrary  to  the  original  desire 
and  instruction  of  the  missionaries,  and  in  spite  of 
the  protests  of  many  evangelicals  who  preferred  to 
retain  connection  with  their  ancestral  church,  but 
who  were  thrust  out  with  violence  and  anathema. 

The  Protestant  communities  which  then  sprang  up 
all  over  the  Empire,  were  not  ruled,  as  are  the  other 
Oriental  churches,  by  hierarchical  bodies.  The  mis¬ 
sionaries,  who  are  mostly  Congregational  or  Presby¬ 
terian,  while  ready  to  advise  and  guide,  have  never 
exercised  ecclesiastical  control  over  their  converts. 
The  Protestants,  in  accordance  with  their  inherent 
spirit  and  beliefs,  have  naturally  organized  their  re¬ 
ligious  and  civil  communities  on  a  simple  representa¬ 
tive  basis,  which  has  gradually  developed  indepen¬ 
dence  of  thought  and  character,  and  desire  for 
progress. 

We  come  now  to  the  indirect  results  of  missionary 
effort,  namely,  the  stimulus  of  evangelical  example  and 
success  upon  the  Gregorian  and  other  communities 
including  even  the  Mohammedans.  The  homes, 
schools,  and  churches  of  the  missionaries  have  been 
open  to  all  comers;  their  varied  literature  has  gone 
everwhere ;  their  aid  in  sickness,  distress,  and 
famine  has  always  ignored  race  or  creed.  Many 
thousands  of  Armenians,  Greeks,  Syrians,  Jacob- 


i54 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


ites  and  others  —  Moslems  being  prevented  by 
their  rulers  except  in  rare  instances — have  received 
education  in  Protestant  schools,  without  changing 
their  church  relations.  But,  nevertheless,  a  deep 
impression  has  been  made  on  these  pupils  by  con¬ 
tact  no  less  than  by  teaching,  and  this,  together  with 
a  natural  and  worthy  loyalty  to  their  own  institutions, 
has  stirred  up  all  the  other  races  to  higher  ideals  and 
efforts.1 

The  existence  of  a  marked  desire  for  progress  by 
all  classes  is  now  clear,  and  that  this  is  largely  due  to 
foreign  missionaries  is  admitted  by  all2 — gratefully 
by  the  Armenians  and  Christians  generally,  but  often 
with  chagrin  by  the  Turks,  who  find  themselves 

1  “  The  creation  of  churches,  strict  in  their  discipline,  and  protest¬ 
ing  against  the  mass  of  superstitions  which  smother  all  spiritual  life 
in  the  National  Armenian  Church,  is  undoubtedly  having  a  very  salu¬ 
tary  effect  far  beyond  the  limited  membership,  and  is  tending  to  force 
reform  upon  an  ancient  church  which  contains  within  herself  the  ele¬ 
ments  of  resurrection.” — Mrs.  Bishop,  jfourneysin  Persia  and  Kurd¬ 
istan ,  vol.  ii.,  p.  336. 

2  Unhappily  there  are  some  who  can  see  nothing  but  bigotry  and 
mistakes  in  what  the  missionaries  have  done.  Such  characters  are  to 
be  found  among  all  races,  as  the  following  extract  shows  : 

“  It  might  be  thought  that  here,  [Missilonghi]  on  the  spot  where  he 
[Byron]  breathed  his  last,  malignity  would  have  held  her  accursed 
tongue  ;  but  it  was  not  so.  He  had  committed  the  fault,  unpardonable 
in  the  eyes  of  political  opponents,  of  attaching  himself  to  one  of  the 
great  parties  that  then  divided  Greece  ;  and  though  he  had  given  her  all 
that  man  could  give,  in  his  own  dying  words,  ‘  his  time,  his  means, 
his  health,  and,  lastly,  his  life,’  the  Greeks  spoke  of  him  with  all  the 
rancour  and  bitterness  of  party  spirit.  Even  death  had  not  won  obliv¬ 
ion  for  his  political  offences  ;  and  I  heard  those  who  saw  him  die  in 
her  cause  affirm  that  Byron  was  no  friend  to  Greece.” — Stephens, 
Greece,  Turkey ,  Russia ,  and  Poland ,  New  York  :  Harper  and  Brothers, 
1839. 


Americans  in  Turkey . 


1 55 


being  rapidly  left  behind  in  the  forward  march  which 
they  have  been  too  stupid  or  too  proud  to  fall  in 
with.  It  is,  however,  very  gratifying  to  see  that  the 
Mohammedan  leaders  in  both  Church  and  State  are 
at  length  becoming  aware  of  the  marked  intellectual 
awakening  and  substantial  progress  that  education 
has  quietly  brought  about  among  the  Christian  races. 
Robert  College  on  the  Bosphorus  stands  at  the  head 
of  the  many  well  equipped  American  institutions  in 
Turkey  which  have  largely  contributed  to  these 
results. 

We  gladly  recognize  the  wisdom  and  energy  of 
His  Majesty  the  present  Sultan,  in  trying  to  estab¬ 
lish  Moslem  schools  throughout  his  empire,  some  of 
which  are  already  quite  large,  creditable,  and  popu¬ 
lar  with  the  Turks.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  these 
schools  will  lead  ultimately  to  an  awakening  and  a 
desire  for  reform  and  progress  among  Moslems 
which  will  make  them  no  less  restive  under  present 
conditions  than  are  the  non-Moslems  to-day,  and 
thus  hasten  the  necessary  reforms.  While  most 
hearty  praise  is  due  His  Majesty  for  fostering  and 
even  forcing  education  among  his  Moslem  subjects, 
it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  there  is  another  side 
to  this  policy  as  carried  out  by  his  agents,  namely, 
an  equal  zeal  in  curtailing  and  even  closing,  as  far  as 
possible,  Christian  schools. 

The  hostility  of  the  Sublime  Porte  has  been  grow¬ 
ing,  just  in  proportion  as  the  excellent  results  of 
American  institutions,  already  enumerated,  have 
appeared.  Does  the  Turkish  Government  desire 
that  its  hostility  be  considered  the  most  convincing 


156  The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 

proof  of  the  success  of  disinterested  efforts  to  benefit 
its  subjects  of  all  classes?  And  does  it  propose 
to  continue  to  cripple  and  suppress  such  efforts  ?  If 
so,  it  is  not  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  American 
missionaries  in  her  borders  who  will  suffer,  but  the 
many  schools  and  churches  which  they  have  planted 
and  the  many  thousands  of  peaceable  and  hitherto 
loyal  subjects,  who  have  been  taught  in  them  to 
serve  God  as  well  as  honor  the  king. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


ARMENIAN  VILLAGE  LIFE. 

THE  following  description  will  show  to  what  con¬ 
dition  the  villagers  of  Armenia  had  been  re¬ 
duced  by  their  oppressors.  And  yet  it  was 
such  people  who  had  to  be  further  inpoverished  and 
massacred,  lest  by  their  indomitable  hopefulness  and 
industry,  and  by  the  operation  of  reforms  guaranteed 
by  Europe,  they  might  rise  to  equality  with  their 
Mohammedan  neighbors.  Of  course  the  customs 
and  style  of  living  of  the  Armenians  in  the  cities 
and  in  some  villages,  were  on  a  far  higher  plane, 
but  they  too  have  now  been  utterly  prostrated. 

It  is  very  easy  to  miss  the  villages  as  one  travels 
through  the  country  ;  their  location  is  indicated  by 
a  few  trees  and  cultivated  fields  rather  than  by  con¬ 
spicuous  buildings.  The  houses  themselves  are  in¬ 
variably  low  and  contiguous,  and  of  the  color  of  the 
mud  and  stones  of  which  they  are  made.  Where 
the  houses  are  on  a  hillside  they  run  back  into  the 
ground,  so  that  they  present  only  a  front  elevation, 
the  solid  earth  forming  the  sides  and  rear  wall.  In 
the  region  of  Bitlis  the  earthen  roofs  of  the  houses, 
instead  of  being  flat,  are  rounded,  and  thus  the  vil¬ 
lage  at  a  distance  looks  like  a  collection  of  gigantic 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


158 

ant-hills,  from  the  centre  of  which,  however,  there 
towers  a  church,  symbolic  of  the  great  and  promi¬ 
nent  part  which  religion  plays  in  the  humble  lives  of 
the  people.  The  churches  and  monasteries  are  often 
very  ancient  structures  of  hewn  stone,  in  some  cases 
richly  carved  with  inscriptions  and  reliefs,  and  sur¬ 
mounted  with  a  low  round  conical  tower.  The  dif¬ 
ference  between  these  fine  old  structures  and  the 
modern  hovels  which  surround  them  forcibly  sug¬ 
gests  to  the  beholder  the  former  prosperity  of  this 
ancient  people  when  independent,  in  contrast  with 
the  poverty  and  degradation  to  which  they  have 
been  reduced  by  their  Ottoman  masters.  In  some 
places  the  remains  of  fine  stone  bridges  are  to  be 
seen,  where  now  the  traveller  is  compelled  to  ford 
the  stream,  at  the  risk  of  losing  his  baggage  and 
perhaps  his  life. 

The  family  is  conducted  on  strictly  patriarchal 
lines.  As  the  sons  grow  up  and  are  married  they 
bring  their  brides  to  the  father’s  house  instead  of 
starting  new  homes  of  their  own.  For  this  large 
establishment,  which  includes  all,  from  grandparents 
to  grandchildren,  the  word  “  family  ”  or  “  house  ”  is 
used.  With  this  explanation  it  does  not  seem  so 
strange  to  hear  of  families  of  twenty  or  even  fifty 
souls.  These  large  families  are  the  units  which  com¬ 
pose  the  village.  The  members  of  each  family  have 
everything  in  common,  property,  living  rooms,  house¬ 
hold  cares  and  pleasures  included. 

The  freedom  of  the  family  home  belongs  hot  sim¬ 
ply  to  every  human  member  of  it,  but  is  also  gener¬ 
ously  conferred  upon  the  numerous  animals  on  which 


159 


Armenian  Village  Life. 

the  family  depends.  As  day  declines,  cows,  buffaloes, 
horses,  donkeys,  sheep,  goats,  dogs,  cats,  and  chickens 
all  turn  their  steps  to  the  common  entrance,  where 
each  knows  his  place  and  is  duly  cared  for.  There 
is  little  distinction  between  drawing-room,  kitchen, 
chamber,  and  stable ;  they  all  form  parts  of  one 
semi-subterranean  cavern,  which  is  divided  by  posts, 
railings,  and  walls,  forming  a  veritable  labyrinth  to 
the  stranger,  though  every  turn  is  familiar  to  the 
regular  occupants.  The  people  gladly  welcome  the 
European  traveller,  as  an  angel  from  the  outside 
world,  who  can  take  back  their  story,  and  who, 
they  know,  will  pay  for  all  he  receives,  instead  of 
extorting  it  as  do  the  Kurds  and  Turkish  zaptiehs , 
or  police. 

On  reaching  the  village  where  one  is  to  spend  the 
night,  he  naturally  desires  at  once  to  see  his  quar¬ 
ters.  After  the  saddle  is  removed  that  it  may  not 
be  injured  in  going  through  the  low  passages,  both 
horse  and  traveller  are  led  in  by  the  light  of  a  flicker¬ 
ing  wick  in  a  cup  of  linseed-oil,  which  barely  suffices 
to  reveal  the  sooty  walls  and  posts.  The  guide  warns 
you  not  to  strike  your  head  on  that  beam,  or  to  step 
into  the  puddle  on  your  left  ;  in  avoiding  the  puddle 
you  stumble  over  something  on  the  right,  but  your 
host  immediately  puts  you  at  your  ease  by  saying  it 
was  only  a  calf.  He  then  proceeds  to  remove  a  yoke 
of  buffaloes  or  half  a  dozen  sheep  from  one  obscure 
corner,  and  informs  you  that  it  is  at  your  disposal. 
The  poor  creatures  linger  so  near  that  you  can  hear 
them  breathe  and  catch  the  reproachful  expression 
of  their  lustrous  eyes.  Before  you  realize  what  is 


160  The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

going  on,  the  corner  has  been  swept,  with  the  effect 
of  raising  a  stifling  dust.  In  summer  you  would 
prefer  the  roof  to  the  inside  accommodation,  but 
this  happy  alternative  would  be  impossible  in  win¬ 
ter.  The  temperature  of  these  crowded,  unventi¬ 
lated,  damp  compartments — not  to  mention  the  fleas 
— makes  you  so  uncomfortable  that  sleep  is  out  of 
the  question.  A  hole  in  the  roof  is  often  the  only 
window,  and  serves  also  as  a  chimney  ;  but  in  winter 
even  this  is  generally  closed. 

The  heavy  pungent  smoke  of  the  animal  fuel  with 
which  your  supper  is  being  cooked  at  last  drives  you 
out  of  your  corner,  and  you  conclude  to  take  a  quiet 
look  about  the  house.  The  children,  overawed  by 
your  presence,  make  no  sound  and  hardly  dare  to 
move.  You  notice  one  woman  nursing  a  baby,  tightly 
rolled  in  swaddling  bands  and  strapped  into  a  cradle. 
She  does  not  remove  the  child,  but  sits  upon  the 
floor,  which  is  of  earth,  tilting  the  cradle  over  to  her. 
The  cradle  has  no  rockers,  and  if  the  child  cries  he 
is  rudely  “  soothed  ”  by  being. bumped  from  side  to 
side.  Another  woman  is  churning  a  goatskin  full  of 
sour  milk  by  jerking  it  back  and  forth  as  it  hangs 
from  a  beam  in  the  roof. 

The  meal,  which  consists  of  fermented  milk,  boiled 
wheat  or  rice,  and  eggs  fried  in  a  sea  of  butter,  is  at 
last  served  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  on  a  round 
tray,  about  a  yard  in  diameter,  of  wood  or  copper, 
resting  on  a  low  stool.  Every  article  of  food  is  served 
in  a  single  dish,  from  which  each  helps  himself,  using 
his  fingers  for  a  fork.  If  the  food  is  liquid,  it  is  eaten 
by  twisting  the  thin  tenacious  bread  into  the  form  of 


Armenian  Village  Life .  1 6 1 

a  spoon,  which  disappears  in  the  mouth  together  with 
what  it  conveys.  The  civilized  drudgery  of  dish¬ 
washing  is  thus  reduced  to  the  simple  process  of 
washing  hands,  which  each  one  does  for  himself, 
both  before  and  after  the  meal. 

A  certain  etiquette  and  kindly  feeling  refines  even 
these  dismal  homes,  and  points  to  higher  ideals  than 
the  material  condition  would  indicate. 

THE  SASSOUN  COMMUNITY. 

As  a  matter  of  history  I  wish  to  place  on  record 
a  brief  description  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sassoun, 
who  were  killed,  scattered  and  destroyed  as  a  com¬ 
munity  by  the  massacre  of  1894,  and  subsequent 
events. 

Hemmed  in  by  rough  mountains  and  wild  Kurds, 
the  Armenians  of  the  Sassoun  district  were  a  re¬ 
markable  community  of  about  forty  villages,  shut  off 
from  the  outside  world,  of  which  they  had  only  the 
most  vague  ideas.  Their  position,  bravery,  and 
numbers  had  enabled  them  to  resist,  to  some  extent, 
the  robber  tribes  around  them,  but  not  the  con¬ 
stantly  increasing  extortions  of  the  Turkish  tax- 
gatherer.  The  dread  of  the  former  and  the  burden 
of  the  latter  were  all  that  clouded  their  otherwise 
glad  and  simple  existence.  They  were  not,  like  the 
more  exposed  and  impoverished  Armenians  of  the 
plains,  in  the  habit  of  seeking  employment  in  distant 
cities,  but,  like  all  mountaineers,  were  passionately 
attached  to  home.  The  commercial  instinct,  so 
strong  in  most  Armenians,  was  foreign  to  them.  I 
once  asked  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Ghelieguzan, 


162 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


“  What  is  there  you  need  which  you  cannot  make 
yourselves?”  “  Nothing  but  salt,”  he  instantly  re¬ 
plied,  adding,  after  a  pause,  “  and  gunpowder.” 
Shut  out  the  Kurds,  and  the  Armenians  would  have 
had  no  use  for  gunpowder  except  against  the  bears 
and  wolves. 

Though  the  mountains  were  rocky  and  precipitous, 
a  large  population  supported  itself  by  the  care  of 
fields  and  flocks  in  the  fertile  and  sheltered  valleys. 
Life  in  Sassoun  was  physically  comfortable,  though 
not  luxurious.  Open-handed  hospitality  and  care  of 
the  poor  were  as  much  a  duty  as  provision  for  one’s 
own  family.  The  houses  were  of  stone,  often  two 
and  even  three  stories  high. 

There  was  considerable  variety  in  the  occupations 
which  followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession 
throughout  the  year.  No  drones  were  tolerated  in 
that  busy  hive,  and  in  all  their  toil  men  and  women 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder.  Which  bore  the  heavier 
burden  the  reader  may  decide.  Take  the  care  of  the 
flocks  and  herds  for  instance,  in  which  their  chief 
wealth  consisted.  To  the  men  was  entrusted  the 
task  of  pasturing  and  protecting  them,  but  the 
women  did  all  the  milking  and  made  the  butter  and 
cheese.  The  shearing  of  the  sheep  was  men’s  work, 
but  the  women  washed,  carded,  and  spun  the  wool 
into  thread,  which  was  then  woven  into  excellent 
cloth  by  the  men  on  their  heavy  looms,  and  after¬ 
ward  made  into  garments  for  all  the  household  by 
the  women.  Crude  cotton,  also,  brought  from 
Mesopotamia,  was  put  through  the  same  stages. 
The  bringing  of  wood  and  water  was  always  left  to 


Armenian  Village  Life .  163 

the  women  and  girls.  After  the  men  had  ploughed, 
sowed,  and  irrigated  the  fields,  the  reaping — a  very 
slow  and  laborious  task — was  done  by  their  wives 
and  sisters,  who  also  winnowed  and  cleaned  the 
grain,  after  the  men  had  threshed  it.  The  straw  was 
carefully  stored  for  the  food  of  the  horses  and  cattle 
in  winter. 

During  the  dry  months  of  summer  practically  all 
the  animals  and  most  of  the  women  and  children 
would  migrate  to  the  cool  upper  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  where  the  melting  snow  keeps  the  grass 
always  green.  The  men  by  irrigation  were  able  to 
raise  wheat,  millet,  barley,  and  rye,  together  with  such 
vegetables  as  potatoes,  tomatoes,  squashes,  cucum¬ 
bers,  turnips,  peas,  and  beans.  Around  their  rude 
low  stone  houses  they  nourished  a  few  fruit  trees 
such  as  the  apple,  pear,  cherry,  apricot,  and  quince. 
In  the  lower  valleys  of  Talori  the  fig  also  flourished 
and  the  vine,  but  in  the  course  of  the  massacre  all 
fruit  trees  and  vineyards  throughout  the  region  were 
systematically  cut  down.  Honey  of  excellent 
quality  was  very  abundant. 

These  clever  people  made  even  their  own  iron 
tools,  which  were  so  good  as  to  be  readily  sold  in 
Moosh  and  other  neighboring  towns.  The  villagers 
obtained  the  iron  from  the  crude  ore  which,  after 
being  laboriously  extracted  by  hand  was  reduced  in 
rude  furnaces,  kept  at  melting  heat  by  hand  bellows 
day  and  night,  two  weeks  at  a  time.  The  only  fuel 
used  was  wood,  and  care  had  to  be  taken  not  to  let 
the  metal  run  out  in  quantities  larger  than  a  black¬ 
smith  could  easily  handle  in  making  a  plowshare, 


164 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


scythe,  axe,  sword,  or  knife.  The  report  that  these 
blacksmiths  even  had  the  skill  to  make  a  rifle  barrel 
is  a  mistake. 

I  once  asked  a  man  and  his  wife  to  enumerate  the 
various  tasks  which  fell  to  their  respective  sexes  and 
was  quite  amused  at  the  eager  competition  into 
which  they  at  once  entered.  Strange  to  say,  the 
woman  entirely  omitted  the  training  and  care  of 
children  as  one  of  her  additional  burdens.  When  I 
called  attention  to  this  oversight  they  both  exclaimed 
“  The  children  take  care  of  themselves.”  And  so  they 
do,  almost  from  the  first.  The  children,  with  their 
bright  eyes  and  ruddy  faces,  would  be  attractive  but 
for  the  fact  that  they  were  often  far  from  tidy,  and 
were  dressed  in  coarse  garments  of  red  or  blue.  They 
were  loved  but  not  often  petted,  being  taught  to  be 
silent  and  to  show  an  air  of  reverence  in  the  presence 
of  their  elders.  At  a  very  early  age,  the  children 
were  initiated  into  the  employments  which  were  to 
occupy  their  lives. 

Almost  the  onlv  men  who  knew  how  to  read  and 

* 

write  were  those  connected  with  the  Church,  and 
they  were  by  no  means  adepts.  In  the  matter  of 
numbers,  however,  they  could  easily  calculate  with¬ 
out  the  aid  of  figures.  These  intelligent  highlanders 
knew  the  value  of  education,  and  had  repeatedly 
tried  to  start  schools  in  their  villages,  but  they  were 
invariably  closed  by  the  government. 

The  morality  of  the  people  of  Sassoun  was  of  a 
very  high  standard.  Wine  made  by  themselves  was 
moderately  used  on  festive  occasions,  but  drunken¬ 
ness  was  practically  unknown.  The  mountain 


Armenian  Village  Life .  165 

women,  unlike  their  sisters  of  the  cities,  used  the 
veil,  not  to  cover  the  face,  but  to  fall  as  a  graceful 
drapery  down  the  back.  They  had  the  frank  and 
direct  look  which  we  are  accustomed  to  see  only  in 
children,  and  were  quick  to  detect  and  resent  evil, 
even  with  violence,  as  the  intruder  would  find  to  his 
cost.  These  people  had  neither  laws  nor  courts,  but 
referred  their  disputes  to  the  head-man  of  the  vil¬ 
lage,  from  whose  decision  appeal  was  rarely  made. 
The  head-man,  or  “  reis ,”  held  office  simply  by  com¬ 
mon  consent  of  the  villagers,  not  as  a  hereditary 
right  or  a  prerogative  of  wealth,  but  because  of 
superior  character  and  ability. 

Religion  was  a  vital  matter  to  the  people  of  Sas- 
soun,  but  concerned  itself  only  with  the  barest  essen¬ 
tials.  They  had  no  more  conception  of  theologi¬ 
cal  doctrines  than  had  the  people  who  listened  to 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Christianity  was  to  them 
a  story,  the  characters  of  which  were  real  and  kept 
before  them  by  the  frequent  festivals  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  year.  They  felt  profound  reverence  for  the 
Virgin  Mary,  but  Christ  was  the  object  of  their  wor¬ 
ship.  Their  gratitude,  submission,  and  love  to  Him 
would  find  expression  in  brief  significant  exclama¬ 
tions,  deep  sighs,  and  sometimes  silent  tears.  Such 
evidences  I  have  frequently  noticed  among  Armenian 
peasants  as  they  listened  to  the  reading  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  or  engaged  in  prayer.  Their  first  daily  act  as 
they  stepped  from  their  dark  cheerless  dwellings  was 
an  act  of  prayer,  accompanied  by  repeated  prostra¬ 
tions  to  the  East  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross. 

A  large  number  of  villagers  who  had  escaped  the 


1 66  The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

general  massacre,  and,  relying  on  Turkish  promises, 
followed  their  priest  into  the  soldiers’  camp,  were 
offered  their  lives  on  condition  they  would  trample 
upon  the  Crucifix  and  Holy  Gospels.  But  the  priest 
in  horror  refused  to  commit  this  sacrilege,  and  every 
member  of  his  flock,  following  his  example,  was  forth¬ 
with  butchered. 

I  have  carefully  verified  these  details  of  Sassoun 
life  and  of  the  massacre  in  conversation  with  Bedros 
and  his  wife,  who,  after  escaping  almost  miraculously, 
when  a  score  of  their  relatives  were  killed  before 
their  eyes,  were  brought  to  London  to  give  their 
testimony.  I  was  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
simple  dignity  and  absolute  truthfulness  of  these 
witnesses,  who  bore  bodily  scars,  and  in  their  faces 
showed  the  evidence  of  the  terrible  sorrow  and  suf¬ 
fering  through  which  they  had  so  lately  gone. 
When  asked  what  his  impression  was  of  England, 
the  man  thoughtfully  replied  :  “  I  wonder  at  the 

houses,  the  great  buildings,  the  fields  all  like  gardens, 
the  multitude  of  people,  their  wealth,  and  their 
churches  ;  but,  most  of  all,  I  wonder  that  with  all 
their  greatness  and  power  they  did  not  lift  a  finger 
to  save  us,  their  poor  fellow-Christians,  of  whose 
sufferings  they  have  so  long  been  officially  informed.” 

The  following  incident  throws  much  light  upon 
the  character  and  environment  of  the  people  of 
Sassoun.  About  six  years  ago  twenty  armed  Kurds 
suddenly  came  down  upon  the  house  of  a  rich  man 
near  Ghelieguzan  to  steal  the  sheep,  when  only  his 
wife  and  children  were  at  home.  They  ordered  the 
woman  to  prepare  a  good  meal  before  they  left.  In 


Armenian  Village  Life .  167 

the  most  obliging  manner  the  housewife  set  about 
her  task.  But  in  the  meantime  she  dispatched  one 
of  her  little  boys  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  men,  away 
on  the  mountain  side.  The  unsuspecting  Kurds 
hung  their  long  flint-lock  rifles  on  the  walls  of  the 
kitchen,  and  went  out  to  search  the  stables  and 
collect  the  live  stock.  While  they  were  engaged  in 
this  work,  out  of  sight,  the  woman  with  her  strong 
fingers,  quickly  pulled  out  the  flint  from  the  lock  of 
each  musket,  leaving  them  still  hanging  on  the  wall. 
In  order  to  allow  the  men  of  her  family  more  time, 
she  prepared  a  specially  elaborate  meal,  to  which 
the  Kurds  made  no  objection.  But  when  they  were 
in  the  midst  of  the  repast,  they  suddenly  found 
themselves  surrounded  by  the  villagers  who  had 
hastily  mustered.  Each  Kurd  seized  his  flint-lock 
only  to  find  it  useless.  They  thereupon  drew  their 
swords  and  daggers,  and  were  about  to  make  a  rush 
to  escape,  but  were  quickly  brought  to  bay  by  the 
levelled  muskets  of  the  Armenians,  to  whom  they 
thought  best  to  surrender.  After  being  stripped  of 
all  their  arms  and  outer  garments  the  Kurds  were 
informed  that  they  might  go  home,  and  if  they 
wished  their  weapons  they  might  return  the  next 
day  with  reinforcements  and  try  to  take  them.  The 
Kurds  did  not  see  fit  to  try  this  method,  but  so  pes¬ 
tered  the  Armenians  in  other  ways,  that  at  the  end 
of  three  months  the  muskets  were  given  back  to 
avoid  further  trouble. 

It  should  not  be  thought,  however,  that  such  inci¬ 
dents  as  this  could  occur  among  the  Armenians  any¬ 
where  in  Turkey,  except  among  the  highlanders  of 


1 68 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Sassoun,  or  those  of  Zeitoun,  three  hundred  miles 
west  in  the  Taurus  mountains.  These  two  little 
communities  were  quite  exceptional  in  their  secure 
location  and  brave  spirit.  The  other  Armenians 
throughout  Eastern  Turkey,  timid  and  crushed  by 
more  severe  oppression,  used  to  speak  of  the  Sas- 
sounlis  with  an  admiration  almost  akin  to  reverence. 
It  was  on  this  account  that  they  were  singled  out  by 
the  Government  for  extermination,  for  it  was  feared 
that  their  brave  and  independent  spirit  might  spread 
to  the  Armenians  of  the  plains  and  cities,  while  their 
destruction,  on  the  other  hand,  would  strike  terror 
everywhere,  and  prove  a  salutary  object-lesson  to 
those  who  might  be  disposed  to  express  dissatisfac¬ 
tion  with  the  Sultan’s  rule.  In  this  calculation  the 
Turks  were  mistaken.  The  blood  of  those  noble 
mountaineers,  instead  of  acting  like  a  stupefying 
drug  upon  the  Armenian  race,  proved  to  be  a  stimu¬ 
lant,  and  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  Europe.  This 
so  alarmed  and  irritated  the  Turks  that,  in  order 
to  prevent  any  progress  of  the  Armenians  either 
through  their  own  efforts  or  those  of  Europe,  they 
have  committed  further  massacres  in  comparison 
with  which  Sassoun  hardly  deserves  to  be  mentioned. 
There  are  no  words  to  characterize  the  cowardly 
betrayal  of  the  Armenians  by  England,  and  Europe 
which  guaranteed  their  protection. 

The  “  Powers  ”  impotent  for  good,  while  masquer¬ 
ading  in  the  livery  of  Christianity,  have  proved  its 
worst  enemies  and  shown  themselves  callous  even  to 
the  principles  of  ordinary  humanity. 


APPENDIX  A. 


A  BIT  OF  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  TURKEY. 

THE  CASE. 

(Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States,  1884,  pp.  538-539. J) 

(Inclosure  in  No.  317.) 

Mr.  Wallace  to  Aarifi  Pasha. 

Note  Verbale. 

Legation  of  the  United  States, 

Constantinople ,  January  24,  1884. 

The  legation  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  the  honor  to  in¬ 
vite  the  attention  of  his  highness,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  to 
the  matters  following  : 

By  note  No.  167,  June  13,  1883,  the  legation  informed  his  high¬ 
ness  that  two  American  citizens,  traveling  in  the  vilayet  of  Bitlis,  had 
been  set  upon  by  Kurds,  robbed,  and  left  to  die,  and  that  the 
governor-general  of  the  vilayet  had  manifested  the  most  singular  in¬ 
difference  about  the  affair,  and  might  be  fairly  charged  with  responsi¬ 
bility  for  the  escape  of  the  malefactors.  The  suggestion  was  then 
made  that  his  highness  would  serve  the  cause  of  humanity  and  justice 
by  ordering  the  most  energetic  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  appre¬ 
hension  of  the  robbers. 

By  a  communication,  No.  71235,  June  13,  1883,  his  highness  was 
good  enough  to  answer  the  note  of  the  legation,  and  give  the  pleas- 

1  This  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  official  documents  as  published  by 
the  State  Department,  capitalization  included. 

169 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


1 70 

ing  intelligence  that  the  governor-general  had  succeeded  in  discover¬ 
ing  the  goods  taken  from  the  two  gentlemen,  and  that  the  robbers 
had  been  arrested  and  delivered  up  to  justice.  This  information  his 
highness  reported  as  derived  from  the  governor-general. 

This  report  the  legation  found  it  necessary  to  correct;  and  for  that 
purpose  it  addressed  a  second  note  to  his  highness,  the  minister  of 
foreign  affairs,  No.  179,  dated  September  10,  1883,  declaring  that  the 
robbers  had  not  been  arrested,  and  that  the  goods  and  money  taken 
from  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Reynolds  had  been  returned  to  them,  but  in 
small  parts.  Under  impression  that  it  was  yet  possible  to  obtain  the 
powerful  assistance  of  the  Sublime  Porte  in  bringing  the  thieves  and 
assassins  to  justice,  the  legation  in  the  same  note  proceeded  to  give 
the  full  particulars  of  the  affair,  both  those  connected  with  the  as¬ 
sault  and  those  descriptive  of  the  action  of  the  governor-general.  Of 
the  assault,  it  remarked  that  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Reynolds,  accepting 
the  assurance  of  the  governor-general  that  the  roads  were  perfectly 
safe,  set  out  on  their  journey  without  a  guard  of  zaptiehs.  They  put 
up  for  a  night  at  a  house  where  there  was  present  Moussa  Bey,  son 
of  Meza  Bey,  an  influential  Kurdish  chief.  When  they  took  their 
coffee  they  failed  to  send  a  cup  of  it  to  the  said  Moussa,  who  feeling 
himself  insulted  by  the  inattention,  took  four  assistants  and  next  day 
waylaid  the  gentlemen,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  Knapp,  they  beat  with 
clubs  until  they  supposed  him  dead.  Moussa  Bey,  with  his  own 
hand,  cut  down  Dr.  Reynolds,  giving  him  ten  cuts  with  a  sword. 
The  two  were  then  bound  and  dragged  into  the  bushes  and  there  left 
to  die.  That  there  might  be  no  excuse,  such  as  that  the  murderers 
were  unknown,  the  legation  gave  his  highness  the  names  of  the  sub¬ 
ordinate  assassins  and  their  places  of  abode,  Sherif  Oglon  Osman 
and  Iskan  Oglon  Hassan,  both  of  the  village  of  Movnok.  A  third 
one  was  pointed  out  as  the  servant  of  Moussa  Bey,  living  in  the  vil¬ 
lage  of  Kabiaa.  Of  the  action  of  the  governor-general  the  legation 
said  further  that  when  the  affair  was  reported  to  him  he  made  a  show 
of  action  by  sending  zaptiehs  to  arrest  the  robbers,  but,  singular  to 
remark,  he  selected  Meza  Bey,  the  father  of  Moussa,  to  take  charge 
of  the  party.  Going  to  the  village  of  Auzont,  Meza  Bey  pointed  out 
four  Kurds  of  another  tribe  as  the  guilty  men,  took  them  into  cus¬ 
tody  and  carried  them  for  identification  to  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Rey¬ 
nolds,  who  said  they  were  not  the  assailants. 

During  the  night,  in  Aozou,  a  bundle  was  thrown  through  a  window 
into  a  room  occupied  by  the  police,  which  on  examination  proved  to 


A ppendix. 


1 7i 

contain  a  portion  of  the  stolen  goods.  With  this  the  governor-gen¬ 
eral  rested  from  his  efforts  and  dispatched  to  his  highness  the  minis¬ 
ter  of  foreign  affairs,  that  the  stolen  goods  were  recovered  and 
returned,  and  the  felons  captured  and  punished.  This  report,  the 
legation  took  the  liberty  of  informing  his  highness,  was  not  true,  also 
that  the  chief  of  the  assassins,  Moussa  Bey,  was  still  at  large  ;  and 
to  emphasize  its  statement,  the  legation  further  said  to  his  highness, 
that  the  details  it  communicated  were  current  through  all  the  region 
of  Bitlis,  having  been  first  given  out  by  Moussa  himself.  The  lega¬ 
tion  then,  in  the  same  note,  exposed  the  maladministration  of  the 
governor-general  in  language  plain  as  respect  for  his  highness,  the 
minister,  and  for  the  Sublime  Porte  would  permit,  and  suggested  as 
the  only  means  of  accomplishing  anything  like  redress  that  a  brave 
impartial  officer  be  sent  to  Bitlis  to  investigate  the  conduct  of  the 
governor  and  take  the  affair  in  his  own  hands.  “  Such  a  step,”  it 
was  added,  “  might  serve  to  save  the  lives  of  many  Christians,”  and 
it  was  further  represented  that  “could  the  assassins  be  brought  to 
just  sentence  it  would  unquestionably  lessen  the  demand  for  indem¬ 
nity  which  otherwise  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  legation  to  present 
against  the  Imperial  Government  in  this  connection.” 

On  November  7,  1883,  the  legation  of  the  United  States,  by  a  third 
note,  No.  184,  communicated  to  his  highness,  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  that  the  governor-general  of  Bitlis  had  confronted  four  per¬ 
sons  with  Mr.  Knapp  for  identification,  and  that  that  gentleman  had 
recognized  Moussa  Bey  as  one  of  those  who  had  robbed  and  wounded 
him.  The  legation  of  the  United  States  then  expressed  a  hope  that 
the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  would  give  proper  orders  for  bringing 
Moussa  Bey  and  his  companions  in  crime  before  the  tribunals  for 
trial. 

Still  later,  on  November  12,  1883,  the  legation  of  the  United 
States  addressed  a  fourth  note,  No.  185,  to  his  highness,  the  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  detailing  again  the  circumstances  of  the  attempted 
murder  of  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Reynolds,  and  representing  the  un¬ 
trustworthiness  of  the  governor-general  by  charging  that  Moussa  Bey 
had  already  obtained  from  him  assurances  of  immunity  in  the  event 
of  a  trial  and  conviction. 

His  highness,  the  minister,  was  then  requested  that,  if  it  was 
decided  to  maintain  the  governor-general  at  his  post,  orders  be  given 
for  the  transfer  of  the  criminals  to  Constantinople'for  trial. 

The  three  notes  last  named  of  the  legation  of  the  United  States 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


1 72 

have  not  been  answered  by  his  highness,  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  except  in  a  note,  dated  December  8,  1883,  in  which  he  is 
pleased  to  renew  assurances  based  upon  telegrams  from  the  governor- 
general,  which  are  utterly  unreliable. 

Wherefore,  abandoning  hope  of  justice  through  the  governor- 
general  of  Bitlis,  and  the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  empire,  the  legation 
of  the  United  States  finds  itself  compelled  to  change  its  form  of  ap¬ 
plication  for  redress,  and  demand  of  the  Sublime  Porte  indemnity  in 
behalf  of  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Reynolds,  for  the  former  ,£1,500,  and 
for  the  latter,  because  of  the  more  serious  nature  of  his  injuries, 
^“2,000. 


THE  POSITION  TAKEN  IN  WASHINGTON. 

(Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States,  1884,  p.  544.) 

No.  419. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to  Mr.  Wallace. 

(No.  153.)  Department  of  State, 

Washington,  February  ij,  1S84. 

Sir:  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  No.  317,  of  the 
25th  ultimo,  relative  to  the  case  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Knapp  and  Dr. 
Reynolds,  murderously  attacked  by  Kurds  near  Bitlis,  and  to  say 
that,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  all  the  facts  before  the  Depart¬ 
ment,  the  inaction  of  the  governor  of  Bitlis  and  the  failure  of  the 
supreme  Government  to  force  him  to  undertake  such  measures  as  the 
case  evidently  demanded,  must  be  regarded  as  a  denial  of  justice. 
While  this  Government  is  always  averse  to  making  money  demands 
for  indemnity  in  countries  whose  administration  of  justice  may  differ 
from  our  own,  the  Department  feels  compelled  to  resort  to  this 
remedy  under  circumstances  which  manifestly  make  the  local  officers 
and  the  Government  of  the  Porte  responsible  for  the  failure  to  do 
justice  in  this  case. 

The  action  reported  in  your  dispatch  is,  consequently,  approved. 

I  am,  &c., 


Fred’k  T.  Frelinghuysen, 


A ppendix . 


1 73 


THE  POSITION  TAKEN  IN  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

General  Lew  Wallace  is  understood  to  have  been  emphatically 
a  persona  grata  as  U.  S.  Minister  to  Turkey,  in  fact  to  have  en¬ 
joyed,  to  a  very  exceptional  degree,  the  personal  confidence  and 
friendship  of  His  Majesty  the  present  Sultan.  The  following  quota¬ 
tion  will  show  what  treatment  even  he  received  in  the  discharge  of 
his  official  duties  in  the  case  under  consideration  : 

From  the  Regular  Correspondent  of  the  Tribune. 

Constantinople,  March  i,  1884. 

The  Porte,  in  deciding  how  far  it  is  safe  to  affront  foreign  Gov¬ 
ernments,  has  even  ranked  the  United  States  below  some  of  the 
European  States.  The  Porte  during  the  past  year  has  treated  Gen¬ 
eral  Wallace  as  if  he  were  the  representative  of  a  Danubian  Princi¬ 
pality.  Remonstrance  after  remonstrance  against  fresh  violations  of 
the  treaties  it  has  left  unanswered,  and  it  has  repeatedly  omitted  the 
courtesy  of  a  bare  acknowledgment  of  their  receipt.  In  fact,  Turkey 
has  been  relying  upon  the  distance  of  the  United  States.  Perhaps  its 
officials  even  suppose  that  the  American  navy  is  afraid  to  risk  adven¬ 
tures  so  far  from  home  as  the  coasts  of  the  Levant. 

General  Wallace  found  it  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  the  safety  of 
American  citizens  in  Turkey,  to  press  for  some  definition  of  the  situa¬ 
tion.  During  nearly  five  weeks  he  had  been  refused  a  personal 
interview  with  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  on  the  ground  of 
“  indisposition.”  During  all  that  time  the  representative  of  that  Min¬ 
ister  declined  to  enter  upon  any  discussion  of  the  important  questions 
at  issue.  Four  times  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
States  had  been  turned  away  from  the  door  of  the  Sublime  Porte  by 
the  refusal  of  the  Grand  Vizier  to  see  him.  Each  time  plausible 
reasons  were  assigned  which  seemed  to  render  any  insistance  on  the 
part  of  the  General  uncourteous.  Yet  it  became  daily  more  evident 
that  all  these  plausible  excuses  for  declining  negotiation  on  the  inju¬ 
ries  done  by  Turkey  to  American  commerce  and  to  American  citizens 
were  part  of  a  settled  purpose  not  to  redress  the  wrongs. — New  York 
Semi- Weekly  Tribune ,  March  28,  1884. 


*74 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


THE  RESULT. 

The  ten  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  above  was  written  clearly 
show  that  what  seemed  then  to  be  a  “  settled  purpose  ”  has  become 
the  settled  policy  of  the  Ottoman  Government  in  regard  to  Americans 
and  their  rights  in  Turkey. 

In  regard  to  the  outcome  of  the  case  of  Messrs.  Knapp  and  Ray- 
nolds,  the  humiliating  fact  must  be  recorded  that  not  one  cent  of  the 
indemnity  demanded  by  the  United  States  of  America  has  to  this  day 
been  obtained.  The  monster,  Moussa  Bey,  was  allowed  by  the 
Turkish  Government  to  continue  his  outrages  on  the  Armenian  vil¬ 
lages  of  the  great  Moosh  plain,  until  his  record  became  so  appalling, 
that  under  European  pressure  the  Porte  summoned  him  to  Constanti¬ 
nople,  where  he  was  entertained  as  the  Sultan’s  guest.  He  was 
whitewashed  by  the  courts,  but  the  Sultan  was  prevailed  upon  to 
invite  him  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Medina  at  his  expense,  and  there 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  religious  exercises. 


APPENDIX  B. 


U.  S.  CONSULATES  IN  EASTERN  TURKEY. 

/ 

The  following  petition  was  recently  presented  to  the  Hon.  Walter 
Q.  Gresham,  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  U.  S.  Consulates  at  Erzerum  and  Harpoot.  The  necessary 
legislation  has  been  promptly  enacted,  for  which  the  thanks  of  all 
Americans  in  Turkey  is  due  to  His  Excellency  the  President,  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  to  members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Jan.  3,  1895. 

Apropos  to  the  recent  massacre  of  five  thousand  Armenians  in 
Turkey,  it  is  clearly  inexpedient  for  the  United  States  to  mix  up  in 
the  Eastern  Question.  But  it  is  equally  clear  that  the  duty  of  pro¬ 
tecting  a  large  body  of  native  born  American  citizens  constantly  sub¬ 
jected  to  danger ,  injury  and  insult  in  that  land  is  not  complicated  by 
atiy  Monroe  Doctrine .  In  their  interests,  attention  is  called  to  this 
brief  statement  of  facts,  and  to  a  practical  request  for  consular  pro- 
,  tection. 

1.  Number  of  Individuals  and  Interests  Involved. 

Distributed  in  thirty  of  the  principal  cities  of  Asiatic  Turkey  alone, 
there  is  a  permanent  body  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Americans ,  not 
including  their  children,  who  hold  over  two  million  dollars  of  Ameri¬ 
can  property  for  residence  and  the  use  of  their  educational,  medical, 
publishing  and  religious  enterprises. 

These  figures  do  not  cover  the  large  commercial  interests  of  Ameri¬ 
cans  in  Turkey,  for  which  statistics  are  not  at  hand. 

2.  Nature  and  Extent  of  the  Danger  to  which  they 
are  Exposed. 

There  are  two  sources  of  danger :  first,  the  lawlessness  of  numerous 
highwaymen  who  infest  the  country,  and  of  the  fanatical  Moslem 

175 


1 76 


The  Crists  in  Turkey . 


population  of  the  cities ;  and  second,  the  hostility  of  Turkish 
officials,  who  have  repeatedly  failed  to  restrain,  and  in  some  cases 
have  even  encouraged  attacks  upon  the  lives  and  property  of  American 
citizens. 

3.  Evidence  of  this  Dangerous  Condition. 

So  far  back  as  June  29th,  1881,  Secretary  Blaine,  in  official  instruc¬ 
tions  to  Minister  Wallace  at  Constantinople,  wrote  : 

“  Your  attention  will  doubtless  be  prominently  and  painfully 
drawn  to  the  insecurity  of  the  lives  and  property  of  foreign  travelers 
in  Turkey,  and  the  failures  of  the  authorities  to  prevent  or  repress 
outrages  upon  American  citizens  by  wayside  robbers  and  murderers, 
or  even  to  execute  its  own  laws  in  the  rare  instances  of  the  perpetra¬ 
tors  of  such  outrages  being  brought  to  justice.  I  cannot  take  a  better 
text  on  which  to  base  this  instruction,  than  the  accompanying  copy 
of  a  letter  addressed  to  the  President  by  a  number  of  American  resi¬ 
dents  in  Turkey.  Its  statements  are  known  to  be  entirely  within  the 
truth,  and  can  be  verified  abundantly  from  the  files  of  your  legation. 
They  show  in  simple  yet  forcible  language,  the  insecurity  of  traveling 
in  that  country,  and  the  instances  to  the  number  of  eight,  within  the 
past  two  years,  when  American  citizens  have  been  robbed  and 
beaten  by  lawless  marauders.  On  these  occasions  the  lives  of  the 
assailed  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  the  robbers  and,  in  one  instance 
at  least,  the  taking  of  life  preceded  the  robbery.”- — Foreign  Rela¬ 
tions  of  the  United  States  1881. 

The  above  extract  refers  to  outrages  in  Western  Asia  Minor  and 
the  vicinity  of  Constantinople,  but  it  is  well  known  that  in  the 
Eastern  and  interior  part  of  Turkey,  where  many  of  us  live,  the  in¬ 
security  is  greater  and  has  steadily  increased,  during  the  thirteen 
years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  above  facts  were  admitted  by  the  State 
Department. 

The  murderous  attack  by  a  Kurdish  chief  in  person,  which  nearly 
cost  Dr.  G.  C.  Raynolds,  of  Van  his  life,  and  for  which  no  indemnity 
was  ever  obtained ,  though  the  assailant  was  positively  identified  in 
court,  is  reported  in  full  in  Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States, 
1883,  1884,  and  1890. 

The  arrest  and  indignities  inflicted  upon  Mr.  Richardson  of  Erz- 
erum,  by  the  Governor-General,  for  which  no  apology  even  was  ever 
secured,  are  related  in  Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States  1891. 

The  burning  of  Marsoyan  College  by  an  unrestrained  Turkish  mob 


% 


A ppendix. 


i 


and  the  danger  to  the  lives  of  many  American  residents  is  found  in 
Foreign  Relations  of  the,  United  States  1893. 

More  cases  of  injury  and  insult,  may  be  found  in  the  same  official 
records.  But  in  many  other  instances  it  has  been  felt  to  be  useless 
and  inexpedient  to  even  report  them.  The  absence  of  any  American 
representative  to  substantiate  and  vindicate  our  rights  on  the  ground, 
and  the  hopelessness  of  securing  anything  but  further  injury  by  trying 
to  press  our  claims ,  often  drives  us  to  the  humiliating  necessity  of 
sujfering  injustice  with  scarcely  a  protest. 


THE  REQUEST. 

We  feel  that  the  condition  shown  by  the  above  evidence,  not  to 
add  more,  abundantly  justifies  a  renewed  request  for  some  Consular 
protection  in  the  Eastern  part  of  Turkey,  for  the  American  citizens 
per77ianently  residing  there  in  the  prosecution  of  lawful  pursuits. 
Our  present  exposed  and  helpless  condition  is  clearly  set  forth  in  a 
communication  from  the  United  States  Legation  at  Constantinople, 
to  the  State  Department  :  “It  may  not  be  doubted  that  the  absence 
of  an  American  Consul  at  Erzroom  leaves  our  citizens  there  singularly 
destitute  of  means  to  vindicate  their  rights  and  protect  their  interests  ; 
this  is  the  more  regrettable  as  Erzroom  is  a  missionary  station  of  con¬ 
siderable  importance,  and  situated  in  a  province  where  official  pro¬ 
tection  is  most  frequently  and  urgently  needed.  The  British  Consul 
there  is  instructed  to  act  1  unofficially  ’  for  our  citizens ,  but  his  right 
to  represent  the7n  is  not  recognized  by  the  Ottoman  authorities  ;  the 
obvious  C07iseque7ice  is,  that  when  his  good  offices  are  77iost  needed,  they 
are  of  least  avail."  Foreig/i  Relations  of  United  States  1891. 

We  are  thus  seen  to  be  cut  off  from  Consular  protection  of  any 
kind.  The  nearest  U.  S.  Consul,  Mr.  Jewett  of  Sivas,  an  excellent 
man,  is  unavailable  for  us  for  three  reasons  :  first,  the  delay  and 
difficulty  in  communicating  with  him  on  account  of  our  isolation,  and 
the  very  circuitous  post-routes,  in  case  the  local  authorities  were  kind 
enough  not  to  intercept  our  letters,  as  they  have  repeatedly,  even  the 
official  correspondence  of  the  United  States  Minister  ( Foreign  Re¬ 
lations  of  the  U.  S.  1893);  second,  the  distance  and  methods  of 
travel  are  such  that  probably  from  one  to  two  months  would  elapse 
after  any  outrage,  before  the  Sivas  Consul  could  be  notified  and 
arrive  ;  third,  the  Consul  at  Sivas  could  not  leave  his  post  without 
neglecting  the  large  American  interests  in  Asia  Minor. 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


178 

Aside  from  being  needed  when  special  difficulties  do  occur,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  mere  presence  of  a  United  States  Consul  on  the 
ground  would  have  a  marked  effect  in  deterring  both  the  lawless  and 
fanatical  elements,  and  the  officials,  who  have  never  seen  the  stars  and 
stripes,  from  repeating  acts  which  have  caused  much  injury  to  the 
interests  of  American  citizens,  and  have  been  the  occasion  of  tedious 
and  unpleasant  diplomatic  correspondence  between  the  two  countries. 
The  expense  of  living  in  Turkey  is  unusually  low. 

In  view  of  all  the  foregoing  facts,  it  is  urgently  requested  that 
American  Consuls  be  located  at  Erzerum  and  Harpoot.  These  cities 
are  large  centres  of  population  and  of  American  interests,  and  the 
seat  of  Provincial  Governors.  They  have  large  commercial  and 
strategic  importance,  and  as  good  facilities  for  communication  by 
post,  telegraph,  or  private  messenger  as  the  country  affords.  From 
Erzerum,  Bitlis  and  Van  could  also  be  cared  for,  while  Mardin  and 
Mosul  would  naturally  be  under  Harpoot,  and  thus  the  Americans  of 
that  whole  territory  would  be  brought  within  two  or  three  week’s 
journey  of  Consular  protection. 

We  are  from  seven  hundred  to  one  thousand  miles  from  Constan¬ 
tinople,  which  means  a  journey  of  three  to  six  weeks.  The  fact  that 
at  least  g,ooo  men,  women  and  children  in  our  midst  have  been  mas¬ 
sacred ,  and  this  fact  kept  nearly  three  months  from  the  civilized  world, 
is  a-  significant  hint  as  to  our  isolation  and  danger.  The  articles  in 
the  last  Harper' s  Weekly ,  Dec.  29,  and  in  the  Review  of  Reviews , 
Jan.  1895,  give  much  light  on  the  situation. 

With  shame  it  must  be  recorded  that,  although  Congress,  in  Janu¬ 
ary,  1895,  authorized  United  States  consulates  at  Erzerum  and  Har¬ 
poot,  the  Executive  branch  of  the  Government  has  failed  to  secure 
their  establishment.  Messrs.  Chilton  and  Hunter,  both  excellent 
men,  were  sent  to  Turkey  as  properly  accredited  consuls.  But  the 
Porte  refused  to  recognize  them,  and  the  United  States,  as  usual, 
swallowed  the  insult. 

This  course  so  emboldened  the  Turkish  Government,  that  it  pro¬ 
ceeded  in  November,  1S95,  to  burn  and  bombard  the  important 
American  settlement  at  Harpoot. 

These  soon  followed  the  burning  of  an  American  building  in 
Marash. 

The  timid  and  tardy  manner  in  which  indemnity  is  now  being 
sought,  is  likely  to  lead  to  greater  insolence  by  Turkey,  and  the 
ultimate  ruin  of  American  interests  throughout  the  Empire. 


APPENDIX  C. 


dr.  hamlin’s  explanation. 

(New  York  Herald ,  December  20 ,  iSgg..) 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Herald  : 

A  cutting  from  the  Herald  has  been  sent  to  me  to-day  containing  a 
letter  of  His  Excellency,  Mavroyeni,  on  the  Armenian  atrocities.  I 
must  strongly  object  to  the  use  he  makes  of  a  letter  of  mine  in  the 
Boston  Congregaiionalist  of  last  year  (December  23,  1893). 

The  object  of  that  letter  was  to  show  the  absurdity  of  the  revolu¬ 
tionary  plotters.  The  Armenians  are  a  noble  race,  but  few  in  num¬ 
ber,  scattered  and  unarmed.  The  Turkish  Government  has  never 
had  the  least  fear  of  any  such  movement.  It  knows  well  that  there  is 
no  place  in  the  Empire  where  one  thousand  or  even  one  hundred  Ar¬ 
menians  could  assemble  with  hostile  intent.  And  besides  they  have 
no  arms,  and  they  are  not  accustomed  to  their  use.  They  would  be 
lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves.  Every  one  knows  this  who  knows  any¬ 
thing  of  Turkey  outside  of  Constantinople. 

It  is  to  be  greatly  regretted  that  the  Ottoman  Ambassador  should 
attempt  to  cover  up  the  path  of  these  horrid  atrocities  which  have 
agitated  the  whole  Christian  world  and  for  which  Turkey  must  give 
account.  It  were  far  better  to  deplore  the  fact  and  work  for  justice 
and  judgment.  It  may  be  the  time  has  passed  when  such  deeds  of 
blood  and  torture,  committed  upon  unarmed  men,  women  and  chil¬ 
dren,  can  be  condoned  by  the  civilized  world. 

The  plots  of  the  revolutionists  were  harmless  as  to  any  effective 
force,  but  were  very  pernicious  in  arousing  fanaticism.  The  fact 
that  a  few  hair-brained  young  men  in  foreign  lands  had  plotted  a  revo¬ 
lution  was  a  sufficient  reason  in  the  view  of  Moslem  fanaticism  for 
devoting  the  whole  race  to  destruction.  It  was  this  which  I  feared 
and  it  is  this  which  has  happened. 

179 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey. 


180 

Another  object  of  the  letter,  from  which  His  Excellency  has  quoted, 
was  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  revolutionary  movement  is 
a  game  which  Russia  is  playing  in  her  own  interests.  And  she  has 
played  it  well.  She  has  again  caught  Turkey  in  her  trap.  The 
whole  civilized  world  will  now  approve  of  her  marching  in  with  force 
to  stop  the  slaughter  of  an  industrious,  peaceful,  unarmed  peasantry. 
If  Russia  enters,  it  will  be  with  professions  of  great  kindness  toward 
the  Sultan.  It  will  be  to  aid  him  in  his  well  known  benevolent  in¬ 
tentions  in  the  government  of  his  Christian  subjects  !  But  she  will 
call  the  Armenians  to  her  standard  and  will  arm  and  train  them  and 
they  will  prove  a  brave  and  valiant  soldiery.  Some  of  the  ablest 
generals  of  the  Russian  army  have  been  Armenians.  Thus  armed 
and  trained,  with  the  aid  of  their  Russian  allies,  they  will  defend 
their  own  homes  in  the  Sassoun  or  any  other  district. 

Turkey  has  brought  this  upon  herself.  His  Excellency  is  a  Greek 
gentleman,  and  has  a  natural  sympathy  with  Russia.  His  influence 
has  been  to  magnify  the  revolutionary  plots  instead  of  showing,  as 
my  letter  did,  their  insignificance  and  their  Russian  character,  and 
has  led  his  government  to  give  to  them  an  importance  which  seems 
absurd.  The  Turkish  Government  has  had  sufficient  opportunity  to 
study  and  understand  Russia  since  the  Treaty  of  1S29,  and  again  of 
1833.  Have  her  trusted  advisers  been  true  to  her,  or  have  they 
betrayed  her  interests  ? 

The  civilized  and  Christian  world  awaits  with  profound  and  fixed 
attention  the  solution  of  the  question  whether  bloody,  fanatical  vio¬ 
lence  or  law  shall  reign  over  the  Eastern  regions  of  the  Turkish 
Empire. 

Cyrus  Hamlin. 

Lexington,  Mass.,  December  18,  1894. 


APPENDIX  D. 


THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  THE  PRESS., 

With  what  intelligence  and  religious  toleration  the  censorship  of 
the  press  is  conducted  may  be  judged  from  examples  found  in  an 
official  document  : 

“  The  quotation,  in  religious  books,  of  the  words  of  Scripture  for 
proof  or  illustration,  has  been  subjected  to  the  will  of  the  censor  ;  and 
even  the  printing  of  religious  books  has  been  objected  to  on  the 
ground  that  since  Christians  are  graciously  allowed  to  use  the  Holy 
Bible,  they  need  no  other  books  of  religion.  Appeal  from  the  deci¬ 
sions  of  the  censors  is  practically  unavailing.  This  censor  insists 
that  the  Scriptural  phrase  ‘  Kingdom  of  Christ  ’  may  not  be  used  by 
Christians. 

“  The  index  list  of  the  Bible  lessons  for  1893  is  simply  a  table  of 
contents  prepared  by  the  British  Sunday  School  Union.  The  cen¬ 
sors  have  refused  to  permit  the  publication  of  this  index  list,  unless 
some  fifty  titles  are  erased,  or  modified  into  a  form  at  variance  with 
the  matter  of  the  lessons,  or  expanded  to  a  degree  impossible  in  a  brief 
table  of  contents,  for  example  :  St.  Luke  iv.,  14-21,  *  Gospel  liberty.’ 
The  word  ‘liberty’  must  be  erased.  Jeremiah  xxxiii.,  7-16,  ‘Sor¬ 
row  turned  to  joy.’  This  title  must  be  suppressed.  Haggai  ii.,  1-9, 

‘  Encouraging  the  people.’  This  title,  which  refers  to  the  Divine 
encouragement  given  to  the  people  in  the  work  of  rebuilding  the 
temple  in  the  days  of  Zerubbabel,  must  be  erased. 

“Psalm  xxxiii.,  10-22,  *  Wicked  devices  frustrated.’  This  title  must 
be  stricken  out. 

“Esther  iv. ,  1—9,  ‘Sorrow  in  the  palace.’  This  title  must  be 
suppressed. 

“  Romans  iv. ,  1-8,  ‘  Saved  by  grace.’  This  title  must  be  modified 
to  read  ‘  Saved  from  sin  by  grace.’ 

181 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


I  o2 

“Psalm  xxxviii.,  8-15,  ‘  Hope  in  distress.’  This  title  must  be 

suppressed. 

“Joshua  i.,  1-9,  ‘  Fear  not.’  This  title  can  not  be  allowed. 

“  Romans  viii.,  31-39,  ‘  Rejoicingin  persecution.’  This  title  must 
be  erased. 

“  Romans  xv.,  25-33,  ‘  A  benevolent  object.’  This  title  cannot  be 
allowed  to  stand  unless  the  object  is  stated.” — Foreign  delations  of 
the  United  States,  1893. 

We  learn  that  four  months  after  the  complaint  was  made  the  par¬ 
ticular  points  specified  above  were  arranged.  But  as  soon  as  foreign 
pressure  was  relaxed  the  activity  of  the  Censor  revived,  and  is  now 
more  intolerable  than  ever.  A  gentleman  of  long  experience  and 
intimate  knowledge  writing  from  behind  the  scenes  within  a  month, 
states  :  “  The  Censorship  of  the  Press  is  so  severe  as  to  amount 
almost  to  a  prohibition.  At  Constantinople  a  most  reckless  and 
destructive  mutilation  of  books  goes  on  ;  and,  contrary  to  the  ex¬ 
pressed  utterances  of  the  Porte  guaranteeing  religious  liberty,  Chris¬ 
tian  doctrines  are  expunged  or  changed,  so  as,  at  times,  to  become 
ridiculous  and  false.  The  men  appointed  as  Censors  of  the  Press 
seem  to  be  utterly  ignorant  of  all  Christian  literature  and  history  and 
their  object  is  to  make  all  books  conform  to  the  doctrines  of  Islam. 

“  The  religious  weekly  of  the  American  Mission  in  Syria,  which 
had  been  published  for  thirty  years,  was  suppressed  for  a  whole  year, 
no  reason  being  given  ;  and  when  the  permit  was  finally  secured,  it 
was  accompanied  by  puerile  and  humiliating  conditions.” 

Some  special  departments  of  literature,  such  as  history  and  poetry, 
are  forbidden,  wholesale,  by  the  Censor.  Many  of  the  Censor’s  deci¬ 
sions  and  the  grounds  on  which  they  are  based  would  be  most  laugh¬ 
able,  but  for  the  fact  that  they  are  part  of  an  attempt  to  throttle  and 
starve  the  hungry  and  growing  minds  of  millions. 


APPENDIX  E. 


* 


PARTIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 

HISTORICAL. 

Norman,  Armenia  and  the  Campaign  0/1877.  London,  1878. 
Milner,  The  Turkish  Empire.  London:  Religious  Tract  So¬ 
ciety. 

Clark,  The  Arabs  and  the  Turks.  New  York  :  Dodd  &  Mead. 
Tozer,  The  Church  and  the  Eastern  Empire.  New  York  :  Ran¬ 
dolph.  London  :  Longmans. 

Latimer,  Russia  and  Turkey  in  the  XIX.  Century.  Chicago: 
McClurg  &  Co.,  1894. 

Morfill,  Russia.  New  York  :  Putnams.  London  :  T.  Fisher 
Unwin,  1893. 

Lane  Poole,  Turkey.  New  York  :  Putnams.  London :  T. 
Fisher  Unwin,  1893. 

Churchill,  Druzes  and  Maronites.  London:  Quaritch,  1862. 
Viscount  Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  The  Eastern  Question. 
London:  John  Murray,  1881. 

Latham,  Russian  and  Tiirk.  London  :  Allen,  1878. 

Layard,  Nineveh  and  its  Remains.  London :  Murray. 
Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies.  Murray. 

Rawlinson,  The  Sixth  Great  Oriental  Monarchy.  Longmans. 
Rawlinson,  The  Seventh  Great  Oriental  Monarchy.  Longmans. 

TRAVEL. 

Smith  and  Dwight,  Researches  in  Armenia.  2  vols.  Boston  : 
Crocker  &  Brewster,  1833. 

Stephens,  Greece ,  Turkey ,  Russia ,  and  Poland.  2  vols.  New 
York  :  Harpers,  1839. 

183 


184 


The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 


Southgate,  A  Tour  through  Armenia,  Persia ,  and  Mesopotamia 
2  vols.  New  York  :  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1840. 

Van  Lennep,  Travels  in  Asia  Minor.  2  vols.  New  York  :  Van 
Lennep,  1870. 

Van  Lennep,  Bible  Lands  :  Their  Modern  Customs  and  Manners. 
New  York  :  Harpers,  1875. 

Theilmann,  Journey  in  the  Caucasus ,  Persia ,  and  Turkey. 
2  vols.  London:  1875. 

Creagh,  Armenians ,  Koords ,  and  Turks.  London:  1880. 
Tozer,  Turkish  Armenia  and  Eastern  Asia  Minor.  London: 
1881. 

Bishop,  Journeys  in  Persia  and  Kurdistan.  2  vols.  New  York ; 
Putnams.  London:  John  Murray,  1891. 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 

Sale’s,  The  Koran.  2  vols.  Philadelphia:  Wardle,  1833. 
Smith,  R.  Bosworth,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism.  London: 
John  Murray.  New  York  :  Harpers,  1875. 

Washburn,  The  Points  of  Contact  and  Contrast  between  Christi¬ 
anity  and  Mohammedanism.  Chicago  :  The  Parliament  Publishing 
Company,  1893. 

Burton,  Pilgrimage  to  El  Medinah  and  Mecca.  New  York  : 
Putnams.  Belfast :  Mullan. 

Muir,  Life  of  Mahomet.  London. 

Sprenger,  Life  of  Mohammed.  Allahabad,  1851. 

Irving,  Life  of  Mahomet.  Putnams. 

Stobart,  Lslayn  and  its  Founder.  Christian  Knowledge  Soc. 
Pfander,  Mezan  el  LLoc.  London  :  Church  Missionary  Society. 
Hughes,  Notes  on  Muhammadanism.  London  :  Allen,  1877. 
Osborn,  Lslam  under  the  Arabs.  London:  Longmans,  Green. 
Muir,  The  Coran.  London  :  Christian  Knowledge  Society. 
Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism.  London  :  Riving- 
ton’s,  1889. 

Arnold,  Lslam  and  Christianity.  London  :  Longmans. 

Ameer  Ali,  The  Spirit  of  Islam. 

Ameer  Ali,  Life  and  Teachings  of  Mohammed.  London : 
Williams. 


Appendix. 


185 


MISSIONS. 

The  Missionary  Herald ,  1820-1894.  Boston  :  The  American 
Board. 

Dwight,  Christianity  Revived  in  the  East.  New  York  :  Baker 
&  Scribner,  1850. 

Anderson,  Rlissions  to  the  Oriental  Churches.  2  vols.  Boston  : 
Congregational  Publishing  Society,  1872. 

Wheeler,  Letters  from  Eden.  Boston  :  American  Tract  Society, 
1868. 

Wheeler,  Ten  Years  on  the  Euphrates.  Boston :  American 
Tract  Society,  i860. 

Wheeler,  Daughters  of  Armenia.  New  York  :  American  Board, 
1891. 

Prime,  Forty  Years  in  the  Turkish  Empire,  or  Memoirs  of 
Rev.  William  Goodell,  D.D.,  Boston  :  American  Tract  Society,  1877. 
Laurie,  Missions  and  Science.  Boston  :  American  Board,  1885. 
Laurie,  Dr.  Grant  and  the  Mountain  Nestorians .  Boston  : 
Gould  &  Lincoln,  1853. 

Jessup,  The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem.  Philadelphia: 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  1879. 

Schauffler ,  Autobiography.  New  York  :  Randolph,  1888. 
Hamlin,  Among  the  Turks.  New  York:  Robt.  Carter  &  Bro. 
Hamlin,  My  Life  and  Times.  Boston  :  Congregational  S.  S.  and 
Pub.  Soc. 

ARMENIAN  HISTORY. 

Moses  Chorenf.nsis,  Armenian  History ,  Arm.  and  Lat.  London  : 
William  and  George  Whiston,  1736. 

Langlois,  Victor,  Collection  des  LListoriens  anciens  et  ?nodernes  de 
V Armenie,  en  Fran^ais.  Vol.  i.  Historiens  grecs  et  syriens  traduits 
anciennement  en  Armenien.  Vol.  II.  Historiens  armeniens  de 
5e  siecle.  8°  .  Paris,  1867. 

Dulaurier.  Recueil  des  Historiens  des  Croisades.  Documents 
Armeniens.  Paris,  1869.  Folio  with  fac-simile  reproductions.  Pp. 
855.  Arm.  and  French. 

Dulaurier,  Etude  sur  V Organisation  Politique ,  Religieuse  et 
Administrative  du  Royaume  de  la  Petite- Armenie  a  Pepoque  des 
Croisades.  Paris,  1862. 

Lenormant,  Sur  l ' Ethnographie  et  THistoire  de  T Armenie, 
avant  les  Achdmenides.  In  Lettres  Assyriologiques.  1871. 


1 86  The  Crisis  in  Turkey . 

Inscriptions  d'un  Reliquaire  Armenien.  With  plates.  Paris, 
1883. 

Neumann,  The  History  of  Vartan  by  Elisaeus.  Translated  from 
the  Armenian.  London,  1830. 

Malan,  The  Life  and  Times  of  St.  Gregory  the  Illuminator. 
Translated  from  Armenian.  London,  1868. 

Chamich,  History  of  Armenia.  Translated  from  Armenian  into 
English  by  Avdall.  Calcutta,  1827. 

Stubbs,  William.  The  Mediceval  Kingdoms  of  Cyprus  and  Ar¬ 
menia.  In  Seventeen  Lectures,  etc.  1886. 

Genealogical  Catalogue  of  the  Kings  of  Armenia.  Oriental  Trans¬ 
lation  Fund.  Vol.  ii.  London,  1834. 

Gabrielian,  The  Armenians  or  People  of  Ararat.  Philadelphia  : 
Allen,  Lane  &  Scott,  1892. 

ARMENIAN  LITERATURE. 

Neve,  Felix,  L  '  Armenie  Chretienne  et  sa  Litter ature.  Louvain, 
1886. 

Catalogue  des  anciennes  traductions  Armeniennes ,  siecles  iv.-xiii. 
80>  pp.  783.  Venezia,  1889. 

Dwight,  Catalogue  of  all  Works  known  to  exist  in  the  Armenian 
Language  earlier  than  the  Seventeenth  Century.  American  Oriental 
Society.  Vol.  iii.  1853. 

FORTESCUE,  The  Armenian  Church ,  History ,  Literature ,  Doc¬ 
trine.  London,  1872. 

ISSAVERDENZ,  The  Divine  Ordinances  according  to  the  Catholic 
Armenian  Ritual.  Venice,  1867. 

Alishan,  Armenian  Popular  Songs.  Armenian  and  English. 
Venice,  1867. 

Lord  Byron’s  Armenian  Exercises  and  Poetry.  Armenian  and 
English.  Venice,  1870. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


A 

Aberdeen,  Lord,  72 
Aghtamar,  14  r,  145 
Alexander,  53,  133 
Americans 

Position,  67,  148 
Number,  149 
Work,  141,  148-151 
Influence,  152-154 
Interests,  147-166 
Anglo-Armenian  Assoc.,  69 
Anglo-Turkish  Convention 
See  England 
Armenia 
Land 

Name,  44,  46 
Extent,  45 
Aspects,  44-46 
Inhabitants,  45,  46 
Condition,  9,  15,  32,  35,  39, 
42,  46,  62-65 
Autonomy,  69,  81 
Race 

Origin,  132 
Number,  45,  142 
Distribution,  44 
Characteristics,  52,  140 
Condition,  chap,  i.,  ii. ,  iii., 

>v,  • 


“  Revolution,”  Preface, 
Chap,  i.,  69,  81,  167 
Progress,  79,  117,  154 

History 

Biblical,  132,  133 
Classical,  134,  135 
Armenian  Sources,  144 
In  General,  53 

Church 

Apostolic  Tradition,  136 
Founder,  136 
Doctrine,  137 
Form,  137,  144 
Heroic  Struggle,  53 
Decline,  139 
Reform,  140,  143,  154 
Catholicos,  137,  138 
Political  Significance,  138 
Future,  138 

Literature 

Language,  132,  143 
Pre-Christian,  143 
Golden  Age,  144 
Second  Period,  144 
Modern  Revival,  146 
General  Character,  144 

Massacre 

See  Massacres 

Arnaut,  98 


187 


1 88 


General  Index . 


Austria,  Preface,  104 
Author,  Purpose,  Preface,  147 

B 

Bagdad,  48 
Baibourt,  46 
Bashi-Bazouk,  98,  102 
Bashkalla,  16,  49 
Berlin  Treaty.  See  Treaties 
Bibliography,  Appendix  E 
Bilotti,  Consul,  113 
Bishop,  Mrs.,  62,  67,  131,  154 
Bismarck,  Preface,  78 
Bitlis,  12,  16,  37,  43 
Blue-Books.  See  England 
Blowitz,  M.  de,  83 
Bosnia,  83,  84 
Britannica,  Encyc.,  48,  49 
Bryce,  Hon.  James,  Preface,  69 
Bulgaria,  73,  83,  96,  101,  126 
Byron,  Lord,  154 
Byzantine  Empire,  53,  134 

C 

Cairo  University,  75 
Castle,  Kurdish,  49 
Catholicos.  See  Armenia 
Censorship,  73,  Append.  C 
Chermside,  Consul,  113 
Chios,  97 
Chosroes,  137 

Christianity,  Toleration.  See 
Mohammedanism 
Churchill,  96,  100 
Circassians,  73 
Code  Napoleon,  89 
Commission  of  Inquiry.  See 
Massacres 


Consular  Reports. 

British.  See  England 
United  States,  66 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  157 
Courts.  See  Turkey 
Crete.  See  Massacres 
Crimean  War,  72 
Crisis,  33,  35,  82,  84,  Preface 
Cyprus  Convention,  72,  76 

D 

Diarbekir,  48 
Diplomacy 

American,  Preface,  Append. 
A,  B 

European,  Preface,  Chap.  v. 
Turkish,  70,  77,  93 

E 

Eastern  Question,  Preface,  68, 

85 

Education,  87,  140,  143,  150, 

155 

Egypt,  83 
England 

Attitude,  Preface 
Responsibility,  69,  73,  76, 
79,  103,  128.  See  Treaties 
Efforts,  76-79,  123 
Consular  Reports,  Preface, 
48,  66,  68,  74,  77,  78,  112 
Erzerum,  46,  62,  66,  1 13 
Erzingan,  21,  23,  46 
Everett,  Consul,  113 

F 

Fanaticism.  See  Mohamme-. 
danism 


General  Index. 


France,  Preface,  78,  104,  107, 
138,  140,  149 
Freeman,  79,  85,  88,  117 

G 

Genghis  Khan,  136 
Germany,  Preface,  78,  104 
Gladstone,  on 

Consular  Reports,  Preface 
Sassoun  Massacre,  1 21-125 
Turkish  Rule,  126-130 
Goschen,  78 
Granville,  77 

Greece,  83,  89,  97,  127,  133,  154 
Gregory,  The  Illuminator.  See 
Armenian  Church 

H 

H ALLWARD,  Consul,  16 
Hamlin,  Cyrus,  81,  167 
Hannibal,  134 
Harpoot,  48 
FIatti  Humayoun,  72 
Hatti  Sherif,  71 
Herodotus,  133 
Herzegovina,  183 
Hughes,  89 

Humanity,  Preface,  1,  33,  123, 
127,  129 

I 

Ibrahim  Pasha,  71 
Identical  Note,  76 
“Illuminator,”  53,  137,  138. 

See  Armenian  Church 
Imperial  Rescript,  71 


189 

Independent,  The,  54,  95,  101 
Information 
Channels,  66 

Danger  of,  Preface,  1,15,  16, 

54,  62 

Sultan’s,  13,  89,  92,  93 
Islam.  See  Mohammedanism 
Italy,  Preface,  104 

J 

Jacobite,  54,  89 
Jessup,  75 
Jesuit,  137 
Jews,  68,  89 

K 

Kallay,  M.  de,  84 
Kermanshah,  46 
Khrimian,  Catholicos,  138 
Motto  on  Title-page 
Khoshab,  Castle,  50 
Knapp,  Attack  on,  157 
Koran.  See  Mohammedanism 
Kurdistan 

Country,  46 
Kurds,  48-52 

“Hamidieh”  Troops,  1-30, 
126 

Outrages,  54-69,  157-164 
L 

Latham, 96 
Layard,  96,  99 
Lebanon,  93 
Leon  VI.,  136 
Lloyd,  Consul-Gen.,  66 


190 


General  Index . 


M 

MacCall,  Canon,  72 
MacGahan,  96,  103 
Malatiah,  46 
Mamelukes,  136  « 

r 

Maronites,  99 
Massacres  in  Turkey 
Greek  (1822),  96-98 
Nestorian  (1850),  96,  99 
Syrian  (i860),  96,  99 
Cretan  (1867),  104 
Bulgarian  (1876),  96,  101 
Armenian  (1877),  105-107 
Yezidi  (1892),  108 
Armenian  (1894),  Chap.  I. 
Victims,  Dedication 
Evidence,  1-42 
Uncalled  for,  21,  23,  26,  36 
Premeditated,  17,  18 
Ordered,  7,  12,  14,  20,  28-30 
Long  Duration,  21,  31 
Number  Slain,  11,  15,  24 
Manner,  20-23,  26,  31 
Violation  of  Women,  15,  22, 
27,  28,  39,  41 
Denials,  12,  25,  27 
Concealment,  11-15,  29-34, 
40 

Commission  of  Inquiry,  Pref¬ 
ace,  103 

Gladstone’s  Opinion,  1 21-125 
Midhat  Pasha,  86 
Missions.  See  Americans 
Other  Missions,  149 
Mohammedanism 

Founder,  no,  125 
Koran,  89,  99,  in,  115 
Exclusive,  115,  116 
Spirit,  22,  74,  89,  no,  167 


Rationalistic  Types,  116 
“  Tolerance,”  42,  71,  74,  84, 
107,  114,  127,  169 
Converts  from,  68,  114 
Union  with  State,  in,  119 
Moosh,  43 
Morfiil,  69 
Mosul,  48,  58 

N 

Nebuchadnezzar,  53 
Nestorians,  54,  89,  See  Mas¬ 
sacres 

Norman,  52,  85,  104 

O 

Ordos,  70 

Ottoman.  See  Turkey 
P 

Pagratid^:,  134 
Parry, 107 
Parthians,  53,  134 
Persia,  6,  43,  48,  53 
Phil-Armenic,  69 
Pope,  88 
Porte  Sublime 

See  Sultan  of  Turkey 
Powers,  European 

Attitude,  Preface,  67,  76,  81, 
99,  104 

Responsibility,  33,  41,  69, 
88,  119,  122 
Protestants 
Origin,  153 
Number,  150 
Success,  147-154 
Hostility  to,  58,  71,  155 


General  Index . 


191 


R 

Raynolds,  Attack  on,  157,  163 
Register,  The  Christian,  127 
Religion 

Classification  by,  152 
Freedom  of,  70-75,  1 10-120, 
169 

See  Mohammedanism,  Tur¬ 
key 

Review  of  Reviews,  Preface 
Robert  College,  115,  149,  155 
Rolin-Jaequemyns,  78,  1 12 
Romans,  53 

Rupenian  Dynasty,  136,  144 
Russia 

Attitude,  53,  68,  104,  168 
Feeling  toward,  45,  52,  68, 
73,  81 

S 

Saladin,  48 
Saracen,  53 
Sassanid^e,  134 
Schuyler,  Eugene,  96,  101 
Seljuk,  53,  136 
Seleucid^e,  133 
Shah,  48 

Shaw,  Dr.  Albert,  7 

SlOUFFI,  107 

Smith,  R.  Bosworth,  111 

Stamboul,  70 

Stein,  Robert,  96 

Stevenson,  Preface,  121 

Stillman,  104 

Stratford  de  Redcliffe, 
Lord,  69,  109 

Strong,  Dr.  Josiah,  Introduc¬ 
tion 


Sublime  Porte,  90-94,  155 
Sultan 

Mohanuned  II,  87,  152 
Selim  /.,  88 
Mahmoud ,  97 
Medjid ,  71,  72 
Abd-ul-Hamid,  Preface 
Sincerity,  13,  87,  91,  155 
Helplessness,  88 
Isolation,  124 
Absolutism,  90-94 
Syrian,  89,  96,  100 
See  Massacres 

T 

Tacitus,  134 
Tamerlane,  136 
Tigranes  II.,  134 
Times,  The  London,  104,  127 
Tozer,  136 
Treaties,  Chapter  iv. 
Adrianople,  70 
Berlin,  69,  73,  76-81,  112 
Cyprus,  Preface,  73,  76 
Paris,  72 

Trebizond,  12,  43,  113 
Turkey 

Americans  in.  See  Ameri¬ 
cans,  United  States 
Antecedents,  117-120,  124, 
127 

Attitude,  Preface,  81 
Future,  108-109,  120,  127  - 
130 

Government 

Administration,  11,  35,  46, 
74,  109,  123,  128,  153 
Courts,  41,  65,  74,  1 12 
Divided,  92 


IQ2 


General  Index . 


T  urkey — Continued 

Favors  Kurds,  17,  20,  30, 
62 

Hostile  to  Christians,  10-41, 
53,  66,  89,  100,  110-120, 
153 

Reports,  48,  67 
Union  with  Islam,  in 
Massacres.  See  Massacres 
Moslem  Races,  86,  90 
Reform,  10,  70-75,  83,  88, 
94,  109,  117-120,  129 
Treaties.  See  Treaties 
Taxation,  16,  27,  34,  49,  59- 
62 

Travel,  43,  131 
Turks,  46,  86 

U 

United  States 

Attitude,  Introduction,  Pref¬ 
ace 

Consulates,  66,  163 
Diplomacy,  157 
Armenians  in,  45 


V 

Van,  37,  43,  4) 

Governor  of,  19,  64 
Violation  of  Women,  15,  22, 
27,  28,  39,  41,  98,  101,  105- 
107,  129 

W 

Wallace,  Gen.  Lewis,  157-162 
Washburn,  Prest.  George,  115 
Wilson,  Consul-Gen.,  73,  112, 
114 

X 

Xenophon,  133 
Xerxes,  53 

Y 

Yezidi  Massacre,  106 
Yuruk,  98 

Z 

Zeibek,  83,  98 
Zekici  Pasha,  21 

ZOROASTRIANS,  134 


. 


, 


.. 


Date  Due 

rum 

Jon i  o 

2006 

J  U  h 

.  .! 

% 

PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

